Drifting
by EtrnlPsyche
Summary: After being dumped by her fiance two weeks before her wedding, Bella Swan moves to a small town to start over. New job, new house, new friends and two men vying for her affection. Which one will she choose? AH / AU.
1. Prologue

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_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**_

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Prologue

_________****__AN: Hello people! Here's my new story! Aren't you excited? I know you guys love me for my updating daily but this one will probably be updated every other day until I get some stuff straightened out. I'm trying to work on longer chapters which means I need to learn to be more long winded, therefore, it will take longer to update. The Prologue however is not long. I'm making no promises though we'll just have to see what happens but you will get Mon, Wed, Fri updates for the time being._

**For those of you that have been sending me womanizing Doucheward stories please keep it up! You're suggestions are feeding my addiction. I'm actually working on a Doucheward story as it is but as I've said before, Edward is my Mr. Darcy so I have trouble writing him as too much of a prick. **

**R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside.**

"I don't want this anymore," he said quietly turning away from her so he wouldn't see the tears that streamed down her face.

Isabella Swan stared at the man in front of her with quiet disbelief. "What?" she whispered breathlessly. "You don't want this anymore? Why?"

"I can't be in a committed relationship right now…"

"You've been in one for nearly four years!"

"But I've been in one longer than that, Bells. I've been committed to someone since I was eighteen years old. I don't know what it's like to be single."

"It's not fun."

He frowned. "Look, I love you, I just need this time. I need to make sure we're doing the right thing now before three or four years down the road when we have kids and we're married and it'll be a hell of a lot harder for us to get out of it if we've made a mistake."

"How… how can you do this James? Our wedding is in two weeks!"

He stood up and paced the length of the porch still refusing to meet her gaze. "I… I'm not ready. I just… I'm not ready to be a husband I'm not ready for kids. I just…need to be alone."

Anger replaced her confusion as she stood up and walked towards him. "Why the hell did you propose to me? If you didn't want this… Why!? I didn't make you do it James. I didn't make you ask me to marry you."

James Hunter hung his head, running a hand through his short dirty blond hair, staring blankly at the ground beneath his feet. "I wanted to marry you… It's not working anymore."

"How long have you felt this way?"

"A couple of months."

"You selfish son-of-a-bitch," she hissed through clenched teeth as she stepped inside of the house and grabbed her purse and keys. "I'll be back for my stuff later…"

He watched her storm angrily down the stairs, her long dark locks flowing behind her in the breeze.

Closing his eyes tightly, he leaned on the railing and shook his head. He didn't know why he did it, all he knew was he'd just let the best thing that had ever happened to him walk out of his life.

* * *

Bella placed her hands on her hips and blew the hair out of her face, taking another look around. This was something she never thought she'd have to do.

After a four year relationship and year-long engagement her world had come crashing down on her. With nothing to her name but her clothes and the few small furnishings she'd brought into the home she'd shared with the love of her life, she had nothing.

Well, except for Lizzie, her two year-old Boxer. Her best friend in the world, at the moment, and the only thing in the world that she knew wouldn't let her down.

Now she was fifteen hundred miles away from the place she'd called home nearly her entire life and starting over from scratch.

She'd tried her best to go on with life but wherever she turned something or someone reminded her of James and before too long she was losing her mind.

It had taken her nearly six months to find a job that paid what she was asking and willing to pay for her to relocate but she'd finally found it and within three days she would begin.

Never in her life did she think she'd wind up in a small town three hours outside of Seattle, Washington of all places, called Forks. Actually she had found a beautiful old house on Highway 101 about half an hour outside of Forks and midway to the town of Port Angeles where she would be working. It was busy road, being the main thorough fair between the two towns and though she enjoyed the privacy of having an acre of land all to herself with the closest house half a mile away, she couldn't help but feel alone.

She'd unpacked all of her clothes, planned on spending the rest of the weekend unpacking boxes and her furniture was supposed to be delivered by noon the next day. Hopefully that would give her enough time to get on her feet and prepare to start over. Something she'd watched her mother do three times and something she'd never thought she'd have to do at twenty-eight years old.

She'd been happy and content in her life and never knew anything was wrong until James woke up one day and decided it was over. She had no choice, she had no say how she felt didn't matter.

Looking back on it, it was probably for the best. He'd really gotten out of control closing in on the wedding always staying out with his friends until ungodly hours and drinking entirely too much. Not two weeks after they'd split up, he'd been arrested on a dui charge and the last she heard he was involved in a substance abuse program that his parents had put him in to straighten him out.

But as much as he'd hurt her and broken her trust, she still loved him. He was her first everything and no matter what there'd always be a special place in her heart for him, despite how it ended.

She just needed to move on. She wasn't holding on to the hope that he'd straighten himself out and come after her, tell her he was sorry and that he'd screwed up and she wasn't going to hold her breath until he did so.

Everything happened for a reason. She had to keep believing that. And for some reason she was here.

She grabbed a coke out of the refrigerator and walked out onto the wraparound porch, which was one of the main reasons she'd bought the house, Lizzie following closely behind her, dropping at her feet as she sat on the porch swing the previous neighbors had left behind.

With a sigh, she raised her bottle and toasted the full Washington moon. "To starting over…"


	2. Chapter 1

_______________**AN: Alright...so I know I said I was going to update this on Wednesday but I've got the chapter ready and I'm too much of a feedback whore to sit on it for another day so you get it now. It's not as long as I wanted to try to make it but there's only so much detail I can put into it without repeating myself so hopefully this makes sense.**_Chapter One

_**Please keep sending me Doucheward suggestions!! **_

**R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

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Bella sat in her old beat up truck staring at the large building that loomed in front of her and did her best to calm the butterflies that stirred in her stomach. She'd never been a fan of change. A creature of habit since before she could remember, the thought of starting a new job, meeting new people, and just flat out a new beginning scared the hell out of her.

The first ten years of her life had been spent moving from place to place with her mother's various husbands and boyfriends after her father died when she was five. She'd never been in one place long enough to make friends so she pretty much kept to herself. Upon finally settling down in one spot long enough to gain her bearings she slowly began to assimilate into a fairly stable environment.

Before she'd moved to Washington she'd been in one place for eighteen years. She was comfortable. She had friends, her mom, and everything she wanted. After graduating from college she'd gotten a great job starting out as an ad and catalog designer for a small hardware company. She'd given up her comfortable job as an office manager at a book store she'd been at since the summer after she'd graduated high school and took a chance.

That was the year she met James. He was perfect. Or so she'd thought. They had a lot in common. When they met they just clicked. They complimented each other in every way and she was happy.

And to her, he was beautiful. He had gorgeous blue eyes, a head full of unruly yet short dirty blond hair, the most adorable slightly crooked smile and a beautifully sculpted body that looked like it had been carved by the hands of one of the masters. Her heart still ached a bit when she thought about him but it was getting easier with each passing day and today was not the time to dwell on the past. She was only twenty-eight and she had her whole life ahead of her, starting now.

Shaking her head, she stepped out of the car and smoothed her slacks. She couldn't let her thoughts drift back to what she'd left behind. From here on out, her life before that moment, didn't exist.

Thankful she was working in a business casual environment and slightly afraid she was overdressed in her slightly more businesslike attire she threw her purse over her shoulder, held her head high and walked with determination towards the huge glass doors that housed Volturi & Sons.

* * *

Jacob Black stood in the print shop trying to pay attention to what was going on but quite honestly didn't care. He hadn't slept much the night before and for some reason he was just plain restless. He needed to go out, do something fun with the guys and just let loose. Something he hadn't done in a long time.

Sebastian Aro slapped him on the back as he walked past, motioning for him to follow.

"Yeah?" Jacob asked nervously, afraid he was in trouble.

"What's going on? You seem a little out of sorts today."

Jacob shrugged as they stepped onto the elevator. "You could say that. I have no clue why. Just something doesn't feel right."

"Sorry about that, why don't you just go home. You really have no reason you need to be here," he said glancing at his watch. "You're all caught up on the Bergen campaign and from what I see the mock ups look good. We've just got to get the actual ad work done and that's not your job. Now get out of here. I've got to meet with your new designer, so I'm going to get moving."

"New designer?" he frowned. "Why do I have a designer?"

Aro shook his head. "Between your work on the Bergen campaign and Lauren's product displays on the Stock ads, the graphics department is overloaded. I'm splitting them up into three divisions to spread the work out a little better. So the new head of your department is starting today and I need to meet with her before I head out to some meetings so get going and quit holding me up."

Jacob frowned as he followed Aro toward the entrance and slowed a little when he saw a woman standing at the receptionist's desk. She was chewing nervously on her bottom lip and from the gray slacks and extremely well fitted pink top she wore, she was there for business.

He stopped and watched as Aro introduced himself to her and he couldn't help but smile when she did, chuckling as her cheeks tinged a pink color that nearly matched her blouse. She was adorable. He wouldn't go as far as to say she was beautiful. At least not by his standards, she just didn't seem his type. Not that he'd had one lately but there was something about her that drew him to her.

"Jacob?"

He shook his head and focused on Aro, who was waving him over. "Yeah?"

"Jacob, this is Bella Swan, the new designer. Bella, this is Jacob Black, your new assignment. Jacob's one of our two campaign managers so you'll be working with him on advertising for his accounts. I'll be splitting our current design department into groups and you'll be over the group handling Jacob's accounts."

Bella looked up at him with shy brown eyes and offered a weak but polite smile as she held out her hand to him. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise…" he said, noticing how timid she suddenly was. That's when he noticed it. When he looked into her eyes he knew that look all too well and suddenly all he wanted to do was protect her. She was broken. "I'm gonna get going so you can talk to Aro. I'll see ya around."

* * *

"Dude! You will not believe the hottie I saw moving in down the street a few days ago," Emmett McCarty called as he let himself into Edward Cullen's house and walked towards the living room to join the poker game already in progress between a few of his friends. "She moved into the old Harrison house."

Edward looked up from his hand to cock a bronze eyebrow at his friend. "Did you offer to help her move or did you just stand there and ogle from a distance?"

"Ogled."

Jacob rolled his eyes as he threw in a few chips. "Southern gentleman, you're not."

"Hey! I moved away from Tennessee a long time ago," Emmett shot back as he reached into his back pocket to pull out a wad of bills. "I'm in on the next one," he said, tossing his money to Jasper Whitlock, the fourth and final man at the table. "Not to mention if Rosie found out she would've kicked my ass."

Edward watched his friend with amusement. At nearly six-foot-five, Emmett McCarty may look the part of angry bear but then he smiled and his dimples completely crumbled the façade. He was a softy at heart and his girlfriend of five years, Rosalie Hale new better than anyone how to cut him down to size. Overgrown oaf or not, when Rose spoke, he listened.

"So what'd she look like?" Jasper finally chimed in, always curious about the new women in town. Not that it ever seemed to matter. Once they figured out he knew Edward Cullen, Washington's most eligible bachelor, all hope was lost.

Emmett just shrugged. "I don't know. Average height I guess, long wavy brown hair, super hot… bout sums it up. And she had a dog. I didn't really get close enough to give any more details. It's not like a spoke to her or anything."

"She has a dog? Well that's it. She's perfect," Edward said dryly as he tossed down his cards and swept the pot in his direction. "Why don't you go over and tell her the house is haunted?"

"Why would I do that?"

Jacob chuckled. "So you can offer to stay in case things go bump in the night…"

Emmett rolled his eyes. "That was lame. Not to mention I don't want some big burly man opening the door and smashing my face in."

"Or Rosalie…" Jasper muttered under his breath quickly dodging the arm that Emmett swiped at him in response. "Hey!"

"One… they don't come much burlier than you. Two, she's single." Three sets of eyes stared at Jacob curiously as soon as the words came out of his mouth. "What?"

"How do you know that?" Emmett said, followed by a couple of murmurs of agreement from Edward and Jasper.

Jacob sighed. "Anyone dealing?"

"Don't change the subject, how do you know?" Edward said slamming his hand down on the cards as Jacob reached for them.

"Because she started at Volturi today. She's the new head of my graphics team. At least I think that's who you're talking about. Sounds like her anyway. Of course, I guess there's a possibility that more than one average height woman with long wavy brown hair that's super hot or cute that has moved to town in the last couple of days."

"What's her name?"

"Where's she from?"

"Can I have her or do you have dibs?"

Jacob looked around the table his eyes falling on Emmett momentarily before he reached around and popped him on the side of the head. "Grow up. Her name is Bella Swan and I have no idea about anything else. As for you, dumb ass," he added looking pointedly at Emmett. "She's not a piece of property. I don't have dibs and from what I could tell from just a few minutes with her earlier today, she's not ready to be with anyone. That girl's got a broken heart and the last thing she needs is you, especially since you're already DATING ROSALIE!!"

"Is this that women's intuition stuff? You've been hanging out with Seth too much. He's starting to rub off on you."

"Let's go see her," Jasper said enthusiastically, not bothering to notice it was well past eleven and she was most likely already in bed. Unlike them, she probably got a full nights rest before getting to the office early in the morning.

"No," Jacob said flatly and looked at Edward. "Deal. No more talk about girls tonight, we're betting. Now go."

* * *

Bella rolled onto her back and threw her leg across the bed, receiving a whimper from Lizzie. "Sorry…" she groaned. She couldn't sleep. Whether it was the new mattress or just living in a new place she didn't know but sleep had certainly eluded her for days.

She tossed the sheets aside shivering as the cold night air hit her body. She had the heat on as low as she could to keep from freezing to death but with the frigid breeze that was sweeping in through every single crack and crevice in the old house it wasn't helping. She slid her feet into her slippers and grabbed her fluffy fleece robe off of the end of the bed, wrapping it around her as she left her room to go to her office at the end of the hall, smiling when she heard Lizzie's claws clicking quietly on the hardwood floors as she followed her through the house. When she was home, Lizzie never let her out of her sight.

Pushing the power button on her computer she sat down and looked around. Nearly everything was in its place except for a few or dozen boxes of books that she'd run out of shelf space for. She had too many books. She didn't need them all but she had them.

Glancing at the clock she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair. She'd been lying in bed since ten o'clock and now two hours later, she was still nowhere near tired. And the last thing she expected was for the doorbell to ring.

Lizzie started barking immediately and ran down the stairs, growling at the door as she waited for Bella to get there.

Bella looked through the window next to the door, hidden by the shadows so whoever was out there wouldn't notice her. A sigh of relief came over her when she saw a familiar face. Opening the door, she kept the baseball bat in her hand and stepped back to let Lizzie out to sniff the man on porch. "Hey…" she said softly. "What are you doing here?"

He held out a beer and smiled. "Just though you could use a drink…"

She frowned.

"I saw the light on upstairs…"


	3. Chapter 2

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_______________**AN: I've given up trying to write longer chapters. Just be happy you're getting something. At the rate I'm going you'll get an update everyday ( I know I suck). Anyway... so my husband and I watched Deep Winter last night because he keeps bitching about all the chick flicks I'm renting and I told him he'd probably enjoy it with the skiing and snowboarding and crap. Well half an hour into the movie he finally recognizes Kellen and says "HE'S WHY YOU RENTED THIS DAMN MOVIE! I should've known... You'll like it John, it's got action John... You just wanted to see your Twilight guy." Oh well. Honestly I have to say, aside from the beautiful scenery(Kellen) I wasn't very impressed with the movie. I certainly didn't like what happened to his character in the movie.**_

**But if you're a KL fan it's definitely worth seeing just to see it, although you'll probably turn it off an hour in. Anywho....... I want to marry Christian Kane. I know I'm already married but God help me, those Texas boys are just too freaking sexy. I swear I have like 2 favorite actors that aren't from the state of Texas but all of the beautiful ones are. Jensen Ackles... beautiful Texan... I could go on. **

**Anyhizzie...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. It feels weird to be writing a longer story that has nothing to do with NASCAR so I may find some way to throw it in before too long. Hell, NASCAR is an advertising dream, it can certainly work it's way into my story can't it? **

_**Please keep sending me Doucheward suggestions!! **_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

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Chapter Two

Bella smiled and stepped aside for him to come inside, taking the beer from his hand. "If you're planning on bringing me beer every time you see a light on, you better have a lot of it," she said softly, leading him into the living room. "Why are you really here?"

He shrugged and sat back on the big fluffy navy sofa in the living room. "You came up in conversation tonight and I found out something that I didn't know about you."

She rolled her eyes as she curled up in the matching recliner and took a long swig of beer. "You've known me all of three days. There's a lot you don't know about me. And a lot I don't know about you, which has me wondering why I let you in my house in the middle of the night while I'm still in my pajamas. But what exactly are you talking about. And how did I come up?"

"Well, my buddy Emmett, who you'll no doubt meet sooner or later, comes in while we're playing poker talking about the hottie that he saw moving into the old Harrison house this weekend. Seems Emmett has a thing for you already and he's only seen you from a distance."

Bella scratched her head and eyed the man across from her as did Lizzie. "Well, not everyone stops to help a damsel in distress."

"Oh, I'm sure he would've helped but his girlfriend might have permanently cut him off if she found out. She's rather… persuasive and always gets her way."

"Ah, well I'll be sure to steer clear of him then."

"He's not that bad, definitely someone you want on your side when things get tough. You're working with Jacob."

"Huh? How do you know Jacob?"

He leaned forward on his knees bringing his face close to hers. "We graduated from college together. Not to mention he works for my company's main rival."

"You work at Cullen Advertising?"

Chuckling he took his hat off and tossed it onto the couch, revealing an unruly mess of bronze hair as he cocked his head at her and a crooked smile pulled at his lips. "Bella, do you really know nothing about your competition?"

She shrugged.

"Well I don't _work_ at Cullen, per se but that's where I spend a majority of my time. Can I tell you something?"

"Don't see what's stopping you. You've already dropped in at midnight to bring me a beer."

He stood up and walked into the kitchen, tossing his beer bottle into the garbage before walking back through the living room and to the front door. "You've got a protector out there already if you need one."

"What?" she hurried behind him as he opened the door to leave. "What are you talking about?"

"Jacob's fending men off for you."

Bella shook her head. "But I don't want any, anyway. Why's he doing that?"

"Because he said you have a broken heart. He's one of those big brother types that feels extra special manly by protecting women but at least he likes ya."

A frown graced her delicate face and he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her furrowed brow. "I'm not going to pry. You'll tell me if you want me to know. You have my number if you need anything. I'm right down the road. Night Bella. Night Lizzie."

"Night, Edward…"

* * *

"What the hell are you doing?"

Jacob looked up in surprise, not expecting anyone to come barging into his office as soon as he got there, demanding to know what he was doing especially Bella. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't need you to protect me. I know you're fending men off and that's all great and wonderful. But I can tell them on my own I'm not interested. I don't need you to do it for me. Especially when I don't know you from Adam, we've had one brief conversation that existed of an introduction and you suddenly know I've got a broken heart? Don't presume to think you know anything about me."

He frowned and stood up, rounding his desk to stand in front of her. "Sorry. I just… I was just trying to help."

"Well, I don't need your help. I'm fine. I can do it on my own," she said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. "I… I've got to do things for myself right now. It's really important to me that I do that, whether it's cutting the grass or fending off men."

"It's too cold to cut the grass."

She rolled her eyes. "Well maybe I'll be out of my independent stage by the time it starts to grow and you can cut it for me. But please, unless I ask for your help. Don't give it…" she turned and started out of the room but stopped at the door. "Well, unless, my life is in danger or something and I'm not in the position to ask for help. Or I don't realize I'm in danger so I can't ask…"

"Okay, I get the point. How did you know?"

"A friend."

Jacob was extremely confused.

She shrugged. "Just back off."

Jacob frowned and sat back down, staring at the door in confusion. What the hell had just happened? He was trying to be a nice guy and help someone out and that's the thanks he gets for it? "That ain't right…"  
_  
Mr. Black, Mr. McCarty is here to see you._

He shook his head and looked up as Emmett strolled in with a huge grin. "Now, I can't imagine what you're possibly doing here."

"Just came to visit a friend. Is that not allowed?"

"Lauren happy you dropped by?"

Emmett held up his middle finger and sat in one of the chairs across from Jacob. "Smart ass… This visit is not to be mentioned to Rosalie do you understand?"

"Oh yeah Jacob, one more thing… Where do you get off telling people my heart's broken anyway!?" Bella rambled off as she stormed back into his office before realizing he had someone sitting there. "Oh…Hi…sorry," she said softly, offering an apologetic smile.

Jacob laughed. "Actually Bella, this is a friend of mine you'll probably see a lot more of. Emmett McCarty. Emmett this is Bella Swan."

She held out her hand trying to contain a smile as he quickly stood up and looked into her eyes. "Are you the Emmett that can watch a woman struggle with boxes and not offer to help? You look more than capable of carrying a few heavy boxes for little ole me…" she purred, trying her best to withhold her laughter as his mouth opened and closed a few times in search of a response.

"Huh?" was all he could muster.

The look on his face was priceless and she knew she'd knocked the wind out of his sails immediately.

"Jacob! You're an ass you know that…"

Bella laughed. "I didn't hear it from him but I understand why you didn't help me, I wouldn't want your girlfriend cutting you off indefinitely… And you," she said pointedly at Jacob. "Stop telling people my business."

Both men watched her leave the room completely confused.

"We have a mole," Emmett stated matter-of-factly. "Someone's leaking information to her. We've got to find out who it is."

Jacob snorted. "Shouldn't be that hard, Emmett. There were four of us involved in the conversation last night. Two of us are here and we know it wasn't us. Jasper doesn't care enough and Edward was entirely too uninterested…"

Realization lit Emmett's face and he shook his head. "That son-of-a-bitch."

* * *

"You're an unbelievable asswipe…" Emmett said when he walked into Edward's office and sat down, noticing his friend didn't really give him much response. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you knew her."

Edward frowned and looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Bella. She went off on Jacob this morning for being protective and for telling people she had a broken heart and when Jacob introduced me to her, she knew I watched her carry boxes in and didn't offer to help. What kind of shit is that? What'd you do? Go down there after we left and try to make a move on her?"

"Um, no I helped her move boxes last weekend."

"You what?!" Emmett was only slightly irritated that his friend had left out this small detail. What bothered him most was a hot girl had moved in nearby and Edward didn't tell him.

Edward shrugged and got up to get a bottle of water. "I was driving by and she was carrying boxes from her truck into the house and she dropped one and just kinda fell into a defeated heap on the ground. I can't handle seeing a woman suffer Em, you'll have to excuse me. I was brought up that way."

"So how does she know what we said last night?"

"I took her a beer after ya'll left. Her light was on so I assumed she was up. She was, we talked, I came home."

"She lives half a mile away, Eddie, how could you tell her light was on?"

Edward just shrugged, "I was taking the dog out before bed and noticed it was on, sue me."

Emmett eyes his friend suspiciously. "So you didn't make a move on her?"

"Emmett, she doesn't want anyone right now and you're very much taken despite the fact that you try so desperately to prove that no woman owns you. You belong to Rosalie. Let it go."

"Sooo… when are you having your next party?"

With a sigh, Edward leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, pondering Emmett's question. He knew what he was getting at but he had a feeling it wouldn't be Bella's thing whether he invited her or not. She didn't seem like that type of girl. She seemed more the laid back, would rather read a book than go to a party type. "Who says I'm having a party?"

"Eddie my man, you have a party every month its part of your job as Washington's Most Eligible Bastard. I just want to know when it will be."

"When do you want it to be?"

"Friday night."

"She won't come, Emmett."

"How do you know? Have you asked her?"

Edward ran a frustrated hand over his face. "No… We'll see what happens."

"So Friday?"

"Yeah…Make sure to invite Rose. We wouldn't want you getting into any trouble because you forgot to include her. You know how much she loves a party."


	4. Chapter 3

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_______________**AN: I suppose I need to answer some questions first... EMMETT IS NOT HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH LAUREN OR ANYONE ELSE. Jacob was just joking with him about the Lauren thing. Sorry if I confused anyone, sometimes my fingers get ahead of my brain and things don't make sense. Hopefully that won't continue to happen. And I actually accomplished a semi-long chapter. I'm very proud of myself. I've decided that I'm going to update this story Mon-Thurs. May be everyday maybe every other but only Mon-Thurs. Friday is White Flag day. I'm trying not to overwhelm myself which is extremely easy to do, especially since I'm writing two other stories as well. **_

Anyhizzie...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside.

_**Please keep sending me Doucheward suggestions!! **_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

* * *

Chapter Three

"Friday night. My house. Eight o'clock…" Edward spewed forth as he walked through Bella's front door, not bothering to stop and say hello as he strode towards the living room leaving her baffled and holding the door.

She frowned and scratched her head. "What?"

"You're coming to a party at my house on Friday night."

"No, I'm not. I don't do parties."

He sighed and his shoulder's sagged in mock defeat. "Alright. I tried. See ya later."

"Wait a minute…" she said curiously, blocking his exit. "You're not gonna try _any_ harder than that?"

Edward smiled. "Well, I don't really want to have a party anyway and Emmett's demanding I have it so you'll come over and make all his dreams come true. Personally, I wouldn't blame you for not coming. I told him you probably wouldn't."

Bella crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Edward. "You're only having a party because some guy, who already has a girlfriend I might add, is making you so I'll come over and make all of his dreams come true?"

"Well he didn't say that, I'm just being over dramatic."

She smiled and walked towards him, slipping her arm through his and pulling him towards the stairs. "Ah. Well, since you're here, you can help me get this bookcase together."

Edward rolled his eyes as he followed her to the second floor, taking time to let his eyes travel up the long columns of her legs and her perfectly round ass hugged so nicely in a pair of gray yoga pants.

He came to a stop in the doorway of her office and looked around. "Don't you have enough book shelves?"

"No, because I still have more books," she replied in a huff, pointing to two stacks of boxes in the corner of the room. "Just humor me okay. You do this, I'll come to your party."

"You will?"

Bella shrugged, causing Edward to notice for the first time just how low her tank top hung, revealing an ample amount of cleavage. "Might as well. I'm not gonna make any friends sitting around her all of the time. There are maybe two women at work that aren't complete slutty whores, so I have very little access to the type I would actually be friends with and since Jacob's fending off men whether they have noble intentions or not, I guess I'm gonna have to go out there and do something about it."

"So you _are_ ready for a relationship?" he frowned, thoroughly confused now.

She smiled and shook her head. "No. I'm ready for friends. Lizzie's only good for one sided conversation and I don't want to drive you crazy. You're the only person around here I really know to talk to."

"Well, talk to Jacob. He's really a nice guy if you take that effort to get to know him."

"I'm sure he is but I don't want him feeling like he has to take care of me which he already does and that was after me just saying hello. He just seems the overprotective sort and I'm not sure I can deal with that right now. I need to be independent and do things myself. I haven't done that in a long time."

Edward looked down at the semi-completed bookshelf and frowned. "Why do you need my help then? If you're being independent, why do I need to help you with this?"

"Because my arm hurts from screwing."

His tongue peaked between his lips and he bit down on it slightly to keep from laughing too hard. "Really?"

"Ugh! Quit being a guy and just help me…"

"Fine. But you owe me."

She sighed and blew her hair out of her face. "Deal."

* * *

Bella stood in front of her closet wondering what the hell she was going to wear. Edward said casual, comfortable but ever so gracefully added sexy into the mix when she'd asked how she should dress.

She didn't have anything sexy. To her comfortable and sexy didn't go together.

Finally she opted for a pair of well worn jeans that fit very nicely in just the right places and settled low on her hips and slipped on a black v-neck sweater with ¾ length sleeves that stopped just below her navel. This was a sexy as she was going to get, not that it mattered to her. She wasn't looking for love, she was looking for friends.

Quickly trying to tame the unruly waves in her hair but giving up without much fight, she applied moisturizer to her face, a quick swipe of mascara on her lashes and a bit of lip gloss and grabbed her keys.

A few minutes later she was pulling up Edward's driveway and the butterflies started to kick in. She hadn't been to a party by herself, ever. She'd never been much of a party goer as it was before she'd started dating James, he had always been the social butterfly in the relationship, now her she was good with a book and a glass of wine. Now she was doing this alone.

Taking a deep breath, she kept reminding herself that Edward was here and if she had to she'd hang around him all night, though the last thing she wanted to do was impose on his evening. At least one of them should have some fun.

She walked up the stairs onto the porch and walked inside, finding the door already open. There were tons of people scattered throughout the living room and gathered around a pool table in the parlor to the left of the door and an enormous amount of noise was coming from beneath her but she couldn't seem to find how to get there.

"Bella?"

Rolling her eyes she turned and gave Jacob a weak smile. "Hey."

"Hey," he said softly, walking forward to envelope her in a hug. Over the last week, they'd become friends but it took a lot of getting used to. Every time he saw her, he'd give her a hug and though she was a touchy feely person, she wasn't that way with people she barely knew. But Jacob wouldn't take no for an answer. No matter how many times she told him that.

Having worked in a book store just down the street from a college campus for nearly eight years, she'd become accustomed to co-workers who changed with the seasons, never allowing herself to get close to anyone because in too short a time, they'd be gone.

But the same went for people in her life in general. Her father had died when she was five and she'd had numerous step-siblings and other children that had passed through with her mother's passing romances. The one constant she'd had in her life was her mother and that was a strained relationship at best.

Her mother had tried so hard to keep her from making the same mistakes she did that they butted heads on nearly every decision and finally she had to leave.

"What are you doing here?" he smiled, stepping back to get a good look at her. "You look hot."

With a blush and a shrug she thanked him. "Edward helped me put together a bookshelf so I told him I'd come."

"I thought you were doing things yourself…"

"I was but my arm got tired."

He shook his head with a chuckle. "You want anything to drink or eat before we head downstairs?"

"Downstairs? That's where the music's coming from."

"Yeah, Edward's down there. That's where the raunchy stuff happens. You know, the pole dancing, the body shots, the nudity..."

"Yeah I think I'll just find a comfortable place up here to sit down and pass the time. Wait did you say pole dancing? Edward has poles in his basement!?"

Jacob laughed. "Absolutely. Pole and mirrors. You can't be bachelor of the year without poles and mirrors."

"Lovely," she replied dryly, rolling her eyes as he handed her a beer. "Guess I'm ready but the clothes are staying on."

"Let's go…" he opened a door and she followed him down the stairs, surprised by the amount of people squeezed inside. Once they got to the bottom, he took her hand and led her through a large group of people towards the corner where Edward was standing with Emmett, a gorgeous blond, a beautiful black-haired pixie, and another guy she didn't recognize. "Bella, you know Emmett. This is his better half, Rosalie Hale, next to her is Alice Whitlock and her husband, Jasper. He's Emmett's sidekick."

"I'm not a sidekick. Nice to meet you," he said sweetly after his bitter retort at Jacob.

"Hi Bella!" the little pixie bounced excitedly sharing a quick smile with her before looking at the woman next to her, nudging her with her elbow.

Bella had never been one to be intimidated by other women but Rosalie Hale scared her. She had a good few inches on her, even in heels, curves that didn't quit and a smirk on her face that showed she knew it.

Rosalie tossed her long golden locks over her shoulder and offered a cool smile. "Bella, I've heard a lot about you," she added slowly cutting her eyes to the overgrown child at her side. "It's nice to meet you."

She smiled and replied in kind before taking a long drink of her beer and looking around the basement, quickly becoming uncomfortable at the sight of couples grinding against each other and making out as if they were the only ones in the room.

"We're dancing…" Edward stated, taking the beer from her hand and leading her into the crowd.

"Edward…"

"Nope. You're going to have fun tonight. I'm not gonna watch you sit there with a sour look on your face. Now show me what you got…"

It took nearly an entire song before Bella finally got into the music and was able to relax and Edward took full advantage of it. A satisfied grin formed on his face as she began to inch up to him allowing him to slip his leg between hers and she ground her body against the firmness of his thigh.

Emmett and Jacob watched from the bar neither able to take their eyes off of what was happening. To Emmett, Bella was only managing to make him even more interested, until he got a firm whack on the back of his head from Rosalie, and Jacob was finally beginning to see what everyone else did. She was gorgeous. At that moment, all he wanted to do was rip her out of Edward's arms, throw her over his shoulder, take her home and ravage the hell out of her. But he couldn't.

She worked for him… with him, and he'd learned long ago not to get involved with people he worked with. He'd have to stick to being friends. That's all he could do. At least that's what he was telling himself.

* * *

Edward laughed at Bella as she hummed a slightly off key rendition of "Neon Moon" while he walked her home. Neither of them had been in the condition to drive and she absolutely refused to stay at his house because "it wouldn't look good." They weren't drunk to the point of oblivion but seeing straight wasn't something that was possible at the time.

She stumbled and leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his waist to keep from falling as they carefully stepped onto her porch and she fumbled with her keys. "Damnit…" she hissed, dropping them in the darkness.

"Why didn't you turn on a light?" he asked, bending down to help her find the keys yet managing to fall backwards on his rear end in the process and reducing Bella to a bundle of giggles.

"Didn't think about it…" She patted her hands around in the dark willing her eyes to adjust to the darkness before she too toppled over, landing right on top of Edward. "Shit…"

Edward held in his breath while she struggled to sit up, only managing to thrust her knee into his crotch in the process causing him to yelp. "OW!"

"Sorry…Oh I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz, klutz…" she repeated over and over again. "Where'd I get you?" She ran her hands along his body until she found where his hand was covering him.

Moving his hand out of the way without thinking exactly what she did hit, she began to rub her palm over him, gently massaging his body until she felt him start to harden beneath her touch, realization finally hitting her.

"Keys!"

Bella turned away from him and felt around, finally finding her keys in the dark then she tried each key in the lock until the door opened.

"Thank God… remind me to curse the moon the next time I see it wouldn't have hurt for it to offer some like tonight…" She rose to her feet and stumbled over the threshold, flipped on the porch light and turned to find Lizzie licking Edward all over the face. "Lizzie! Get in here…"

Pushing her way between them, she helped Edward to his feet and inside to the living room where he collapsed onto the sofa curled into a fetal position.

"I'm really sorry…"

He shook his head and swallowed hard. "No… it's fine. It doesn't hurt… much…anymore, I just can't walk right now."

Bella cringed. "I didn't realize Edward, it was dark…"

"It's fine. Just let me lay here for a few minutes until it goes away and I'll leave."

She sat in her recliner and watched him. "I just… I haven't really had that kind of effect on a guy in a really long time. Of course I haven't really rubbed any crotches either."

"It had nothing to do with you rubbing my crotch, Bells. It's been coming and going all night."

"What'd you call me?" she frowned.

"Bells… Is that bad?"

She shook her head. "No… just, that's what James used to call me."

"James? Ex-husband?"

Bella gave him a weak smile and shook her head. "We didn't make it to the wedding. He dumped me two weeks before we were supposed to get married."

"Fucker…"

"Yeah. Look, I'm gonna go to bed. Just lock the door knob on your way out."

Edward watched her go up the stairs and fell back in pain and irritation. He couldn't believe some guy had just ditched her two weeks before their wedding. No wonder she didn't want a relationship.

He looked at Lizzie, who'd come back downstairs after following Bella upstairs.

"You think she'll kill me if I sleep here?"

Lizzie whimpered and cocked her head then jumped onto the couch with him, settling behind his legs and resting her head on his thigh.

"Night girl."


	5. Chapter 4

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_______________**AN: Hello people! So here's your first update of the week. It's short, sorry, I tried to flush stuff out a little but all I really accomplished was a few more paragraphs, not enough to make a difference. Also for the person that asked, yes Lizzie is named after Elizabeth Bennett. **_

I just want all of you to know that I'm in horrible pain. I feel it's necessary to share this because my cat is awesome. She normally sleeps on my husband but last night m hip was hurting me so badly that I couldn't move, roll over, breath or anything else for that matter without crying. Around 3:30 this morning I took 3 Aleve and got back in bed, then the shivering started because it was so freaking cold which only aggravated my hip more. I got my husband to snuggle up to me to get a little body heat and then my wonderful cat crawls over and lays right down on top of the spot where I was hurting and stayed there all night. No matter how much I moved she stayed there like a little heating pad and it feels tons better this morning. Not perfect but definitely better. Cats are the shit!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day. My hubby bought me a University of Texas box of chocolates (who knew you could find those in Alabama) so he started things off just right.

Enjoy...R & R! Appease the feedback whore insidePlease keep sending me Doucheward suggestions!!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

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Chapter Four

Bella curled up in the recliner, slowly sipping at her cup of coffee as she stared at the man that was sleeping peacefully on her couch. Allowing herself to watch him unnoticed, she took full advantage of the situation, letting her eyes linger a little too long on his full parted lips before glancing over his nose and eyes to land on that unruly mane of bronze that he called hair. He was a beautiful man and she'd be lying to herself if she thought otherwise but all he would ever be was a friend to her. She didn't want a relationship right now but the main reason being that he was completely out of her league. She'd over-heard some talk of him being Washington's most eligible and after Googling him she could certainly see why.

He came from a long line of money. His parents had been killed in a car accident when he was only ten, therefore all of their wealth had been set up in trust for him to receive at the age of twenty-one. His father's brother Carlisle Cullen, a world renowned surgeon and his wife, Esme, a well-known interior decorator had gotten custody of Edward after his parents' death. He attended college at Dartmouth receiving his masters from Yale before moving back to Washington to assume his position as CEO of Cullen Advertising.

All in all, he was worth a quarter of bill and though he lived a very low key life aside from the occasional party he reeked of wealth and that was something she could never acclimate.

She had been surprised to find Edward still there when she woke up this morning and she was even more surprised to find Lizzie sleeping with him.

Lizzie didn't warm up that quickly to anyone. Of course, in a way it eased her mind. At least she didn't consider him a threat.

"Are you going to sit there and stare at me all day?"

She smirked. "No, I was debating whether or not to pour water on you and wake you up but I don't want to get my couch wet."

Edward yawned and sat up, stretching his arms over his head as he leaned his head back on the sofa and closed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"8:30."

He groaned running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "Shit… I'm going back to sleep…" he started to lay back down but Lizzie growled and leaned against him, propping her body up next to his to sit up. "You realize you only slept like four hours right?"

"That's more sleep than I've gotten in months," she shrugged again sipping at her coffee, trying to withhold a smile as Lizzie laid her snout on his shoulder and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Look. I'm not going to pretend that I have any clue what you're going through but you can talk to me about it if you need someone to talk to."

Bella gave him a soft smile. "I'm not going to burden anyone else with my problems."

"I don't care…"

"It's not that, Edward. It'll start off with you wanting to be a friend but then before too long, you're going to start to pity me and I don't need that. I don't want that. I have to be strong and get on with my life and I can't do that if I keep rehashing my past with everyone I meet. I came here to start over and that's what I'm going to do. Would you like some coffee?"

Edward watched her for a moment as she stood hastily from the recliner, nearly slipping as her socked feet slid on the hardwood floors in her hurry. "When's the last time you spilled everything to someone? When's the last time you got it all out? The pain, the hurt, the frustration? When?"

"Edward, I'm not going to impo…"

"When?" he asked again this time more of a demand as he followed her into the kitchen.

"Never."

"Then you're going to."

She stomped around the kitchen gathering a mug, some milk, and sugar with Edward right on her heels. "I'm not, Edward. You're not going to make me spill my life to you just because you said so. I mean I've only known you, what? A week? Two? I'm not doin it. How do you take your coffee?"

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the counter and watched her start another pot of coffee. "I'm just trying to be your friend, that's all."

"Well, as my friend, respect that I don't _want_ to talk about it."

With a shrug, he straightened. "Fine. But I mean it. When, and I do mean when, you're ready to talk about it. You call me."

"Alright, fine. Just don't expect it."

He sighed and flopped down onto one of the stools at the bar separating the kitchen from the large open dining and living room area as he watched her do everything she could to avoid making eye contact with him. "Two sugars."

* * *

Emmett groaned as he heard a door slam and cocked open an eye to see Edward stepping over trash and people as he walked through the living room. "Where have you been?"

"Out…"

"Out where? What time is it?"

Edward shrugged and grabbed a garbage bag from the kitchen. "I dunno, bout 9."

"Why the hell are you up this early?"

"Would you quit with the twenty questions already? I was out, I'm up, I'm cleaning. Don't bug me right now."

Emmett frowned as Edward hastily shoved things in bags and started rousing people to leave. He could tell he was upset but he couldn't figure out what it was and it didn't seem like it was anything pressing just like something was bugging him.

Struggling to push himself off of the couch, he started waking people up and went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

He continued watched Edward brood for another half hour before he finally had enough of it. "Alright, I'm bugging you. I can't help it. What's gotten into you this morning?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm just thinking. I'm fine."

"You're not fine! Where were you last night? Does it have anything to do with that?"

Edward sighed and tossed down that bag that was in his hand and motioned for Emmett to follow him outside, not wanting the people that were still there in on the conversation.

"I was at Bella's…"

Emmett's eyes grew wide and lit with anger. "You assh…"

"Shut up. I didn't do anything. I walked her home because we were both too drunk to drive and she didn't want to stay here," he pointed at her car parked in the driveway for added emphasis. "We went inside and I passed out on the couch with Lizzie."

"Who's Lizzie? Is she hot?"

"Yeah, for a girl with four legs and a tail…"

"Huh?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Look, I slept on her couch, she slept in her room. This morning I was trying to get her to talk to me about something that happened to her and she didn't want to. I guess I just don't see how she can keep it bottled up like that. It's got to be eating away at her."

"What does?"

"Emmett, I'm not going to tell you alright. It's not my place to tell anyone anything about her. If she wants you to know she'll tell you but I'm telling you right now, when she starts looking for a relationship, all you're going to be is a friend and you need to make sure Rosalie knows that. She was a complete bitch the Bella last night and you may be my friend as well as Rose but I won't tolerate that in my house. Bella's got no one and I won't let her feel even more alienated by your overbearing bitch of a girlfriend."

"Screw this 9 am shit… I'm going back to bed."

* * *

"Did you have fun?"

Bella looked up from her computer to see Jacob's head peeking into her office. With a smile, she leaned back and let herself relax a little. "Yes, I did, probably too much."

He walked in and sat down across from her, propping his left foot on the opposite knee. "You didn't wake up with a strange person in your bed did you?"

"No," she replied with a roll of the eyes. "I woke up with Edward on my sofa, snuggled up with my dog…"

Jacob's huge smile drooped a little but never entirely disappeared. "Edward was at your place?"

"He walked me home. Drunken fools that we were neither could operate a car very well at the time."

"Ah…" he cleared his throat and stood up, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Glad you and Edward had a good time."

"Jacob?"

"Huh?"

"We're just friends. You know I'm not looking for anything more than that right now."

Jacob sighed. "Yeah. Well, I'm going to let you get back to work."

She watched him walk towards the door, seemingly downtrodden from his normally exuberant behavior. "Jacob?"

He stopped and turned to look at her.

"Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? I'll make steaks and we'll just hang out. Friends… that's it. Don't read anything more to it than it is but, it would be nice to have some company, aside from Edward."

"Sure…"


	6. Chapter 5

**_AN: Hi everyone! How goes it? I actually flushed this out to an additional page before posting this so even though it's not super long, it's long enough for me. Like I said if you guys only got one update a week I could understand getting upset over short chapters but you don't so no complaining! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter things are starting to develop a little bit more now that Bella's been around the guys for a few weeks. Please keep in mind, she's been single for six months and as much as she wants to do the whole alone thing for a while... How can you possibly want to stay single when you have Edward Cullen showing up on your doorstep all of the time? I know I wouldn't. I could lie to myself and say I just wanted friendship but I'd totally have an ulterior motive which included some Cullen cock in the end. :D_**

_**Enjoy...R & R! Appease the feedback whore insidePlease keep sending me Doucheward suggestions!!**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

_

* * *

_

Chapter Five

Bella stared at her reflection in the mirror wondering why she'd invited Jacob to dinner. But what it really came down to was she wanted someone to talk to. Not that Edward hadn't made himself readily available for her anytime she needed him, but she needed other people to talk to. She didn't want to become too dependent on Edward's company.

Lizzie whimpered from the doorway, where she watched her owner with curiosity.

"What?" she snapped at the dog just as the doorbell rang. "Damnit, he's early." She hurried down the stairs, nearly tripping over Lizzie as she did so and slid to a stop in front of the door.

She straightened her hair and smoothed out her sweater then opened the door. "You're a little ear… Edward?"

Edward smirked, letting his eyes roam over her. "You look hot. Who are you expecting?"

_So do you_, she thought taking her time to allow her eyes to fully take him in. His hair was in its usual unruly state but he was dressed for work and she'd never seen him in anything other than jeans and polos. He was wearing a sage green button down with a complimentary tie in varying shades of green that was tugged loose around his neck and a pair of very well tailored black slacks. He was mouthwateringly beautiful.

Snapping her mouth closed to reign in the drooling she tried to remember what he'd asked her.

"Um," she frowned, not sure how Edward was going to respond to this. "Jacob is coming over. We were going to grill some steaks, just hang out."

"I thought you didn't want to date…" he replied with wide curious eyes.

"It's not a date Edward, its just friends hanging out, eating, talking… what we do," she hurried to defend herself but quickly wondered why she did so. She owed Edward no explanations. They were friends and nothing more, no matter how amazing gorgeous and kind and…perfect he was.

She really needed to start spending some time away from him. In the few weeks she'd known him she was becoming far too reliant on his company and that was completely going against what she wanted for herself right now. The fact that she was beginning to find him sexually appealing was only aggravating the matter.

Edward sighed. "You haven't had dinner with me yet."

"No but I've had beer with you at midnight."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well, will you do me a favor then? I know we'll hang out some more but when you decide you're ready to date… Let me know."

Bella stood speechless as Edward braced his forearms on the door frame then leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. When he stepped back she was standing there with her eyes closed, her hand gripping the doorframe tightly to keep her on her feet. "Um… uh…. Uh-huh…" she stuttered. _I've never felt lips that soft on a man._

"Bye, Bella…" he chuckled as he turned to walk away.

"Um, Edward, why _did_ you come by?"

A crooked grin pulled at his mouth as he ran his hand through his hair. "Just wanted to see if you needed anything before I headed home."

"Oh. Bye…" she said softly as she chewed on her bottom lip watching Edward walk away and Jacob approach. They stopped and talked for a second before Jacob got to the porch.

She took the time to study the differences between the two men. Both were undeniably attractive but where Edward's beauty was polished and professional, Jacob's was rugged and, well, manly. Not saying that Edward didn't look like a man because he was one hundred percent all man but Jacob gave an heir of masculinity that Edward just couldn't touch. It could have something to do with that fact that he towered over an already tall Edward by at good five inches or the dark naturally russet tone of his skin, the blue black silk of his long hair and high cheekbones that proudly showed his Native American lineage. Either way she could certainly do worse when it came to men vying for her attention in this small North Pacific town. Too bad she wasn't looking for what either of them were offering right now, whether disguised as friendship, in Jacob's case, or the laid out offer that Edward has just left at her doorstep before he left.

"Hey…"

Jacob smiled and handed her a bottle. "Didn't really know what to bring? I know it's not a date but I didn't want to come empty handed."

"Thanks," she said taking it from him with curiosity and walked into the kitchen. "You can never have too many olives. I'm not sure how you like your steaks but they've been marinating since I got home so just let me know how you want it."

She pointed to the gas grill she had built into her counter.

"Wow, fancy," Jacob chuckled. "How do you like your steaks?"

"Medium well…"

"Cook out _all_ of the flavor I see…"

Bella laughed and checked the two potatoes that she'd put into the over a half hour before. "What would you like to drink? I've got beer, Coke, tea…"

"Tea sounds good."

She poured two glasses of tea and handed one to Jacob as he finished putting the steaks on and they walked into the living room and sat down, turning on the tv as they sat in a comfortable silence.

"This is a really nice house," he said not as comfortable as she was in the situation. "Are you buying or renting?"

"Buying. But I'm sure you've got something a lot nicer than this being the big account guy. "

"I live in a one bedroom apartment."

"What?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, my family home's on the rez in LaPush and that's where my roots are. I'm not buying a house anywhere else."

Bella smiled. "I can understand that. I know I never thought I'd leave Phoenix but I did. Not that I have a family home or anything to grow old in."

"Have you been to La Push yet?"

"I don't really get out much. I've been so exhausted on the weekends trying to adjust to the time and work I just haven't had much time to take a day and relax somewhere that hasn't been here."

"I'll have to take you down to First Beach one weekend when the weather clears up a bit or for a few hours. It's really beautiful out there."

She only nodded and offered a small smile, she didn't want to give him any encouragement that it could make him think it would be a date.

"So does Edward drop by often?" Jacob asked randomly though there was a bit of disdain in his voice that he tried to hide as he stood up and walked into the kitchen to check the steaks.

_Here we go._ She rolled her eyes, not getting up from her seat. "Often enough," she replied with irritation.

"You need to be care…"

"Jacob I told you when I want your help I'll ask," she said firmly.

He shook his head in disagreement but said nothing else. "Steaks are done."

Bella got up and went into the kitchen, getting the potatoes out of the oven. "How do you like your potato?"

"Loaded," Jacob laughed.

"How surprising…"

She grabbed the butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits then grabbed a beer and placed everything on the dining room table.

They ate in silence but after Bella got up to get her third beer Jacob spoke up. "You want to talk about it?"

"Nope," she said shortly, poking around at her potato. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine," he replied firmly, taking the final bite of his steak before setting down his fork and leaning back to watch her.

She tossed down her fork and stared at him. "I don't want to talk about it Jacob. Not to you, not to Edward, not to anyone."

"Maybe that's the problem."

Bella finished her beer and walked back into the kitchen to get another, only to have Jacob follow her and hold the refrigerator door closed. "Let it go, Jacob. Just … just please go home okay. I don't know why I even invited you over tonight. This is just … it's not a good day for this."

"Why not? What's so special about today?"

She looked up at him trying desperately not to give in to the pleading look in his eyes "Just leave, please…"

Jacob stepped back and watched as she turned away from him and leaned on the counter. "Bella…"

Leaning her head forward so that her hair fell into her face, she tried to stop the tears from falling but before she knew what was happening her body was shaking uncontrollably as sobs slowly took over her.

"Hey…" Jacob said softly, pulling her back into his arms, only slightly surprised when she turned and buried her face in his chest. "Shhh…" He stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her. "Please talk to me. It's doing you no good to hold this all in."

She shook her head, crying even harder as he tightened his arms around her. "I can't…"

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and rested his head against hers. "Then just cry… I'll hold you as long as I need to."

Bella opened her eyes and frowned when an arm tightened around her waist. Not moving she let her eyes roam the room, recognizing her bedroom.

Reaching down, she carefully pried the arm from her and slid off of the bed, happy to find both she and Jacob were completely dressed and laying on top of the comforter. "Jacob…" she hissed, glancing at the clock to find that it was almost 7 and anyone could drive by and see his car still outside.

_Anyone_ being Edward.

"Jacob… get up…" she poked him in the side and he moaned and snuggled deeper into the pillow. "Jacob! GET YOUR ASS UP!"

"What?! Huh?" He yelped sitting up suddenly and clasping his hand over his heart. "What the hell…"

"You need to get up and leave. It's almost seven, I don't want people driving by and getting the wrong idea."

"People?" he asked confused before realization lit his eyes. "You mean Edward."

"No, I don't mean Edward, I just mean people. I'm a single woman I can't have a different car parked in front of my house every night. It doesn't look good."

Jacob shook his head and stood up, scratching his head, mussing his already messy hair. He grabbed his shoes and sat back on the bed, quietly putting them on as he thought about the previous night.

They'd stood in the kitchen while she cried for nearly half an hour before he suggested they go upstairs and lay down where they'd be more comfortable. She'd agreed and had spent the next few hours sniffling and crying in his arms until they both finally just fell asleep. He never got her to tell him what was wrong but he could tell it was helping her to just get it out.

"You know you're gonna have to talk about this sooner or later," he said softly, not wanting to upset her again but just letting her know that she couldn't keep it in.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I'll add you to the list of people that have volunteered their services. Just get going. I've gotta get ready for work."

Jacob stood up and walked around the bed, reaching out and pulling her to him, smiling to himself when her arms wrapped around his waist in response. "I just don't want you to go through this alone. No one does."

"I'm not alone… I've got Lizzie."

"And me… and Edward, as much as I hate that," he replied dryly. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and pulled away from her. "I'll see you in a little while."

"Bye…"

He walked down the stairs and out of the house to his car looking up just as Edward drove by on his way to work, casting him a not so congenial glance. "Shit…"


	7. Chapter 6

__

**_AN: Hey people. So I'm not going to leave a super long note here but just wanted to let you guys know that you will get an updated on Drifting tomorrow as well as White Flag on Friday but I will not be updating Drifting again until next Tuesday because my hubby and I are going to Gatlinburg for the weekend with some friends and won't be back until late Monday night. I'm sure you all wanted to know that. Personally I'm just ready for a little r & r. Any who... hope all of you aren't ready to kill me after this chapter but you never can tell. Just remember you love me and you always get what you want in the end.... except for maybe with Somebody Knows You Now, I mean who wanted that ending? lol._**

**Love you guys!**_**...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside.**_

_**Keep up the suggestions for Doucheward please. I'm sure I'll need plenty to read this weekend, our cabin has a pool table, my husband may ignore me all week!!**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

* * *

Chapter Six

Bella checked her watch as she walked out of Volturi and frowned. It was well past seven on a Friday night and she had absolutely no intention of being there as late as she was. She and Jacob had been going over ideas for some billboards and the next thing she knew, everyone was gone but them.

"You want to go get some dinner?" he asked as he locked up the doors behind them and walked her to her car.

She shook her head, giving him a weak smile. "Nah, I think I'm just going to head home."

Jacob frowned and watched her for moment before speaking. "Are you okay? You've seemed kind of down?"

"Yeah, I just… Have you talked to Edward lately? I haven't seen or talked to him since the night you came over for dinner and that's been nearly three weeks ago. I figured he was probably busy with some accounts or something but I saw him drive by as I was leaving a few times and he didn't even acknowledge me."

He shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't spoken to him either…"

"Well, I'm just going to head home. I'll see you later."

She got in her car and headed home, slowing to turn into her drive when she decided that's not what she wanted to do. She kept going and slowed a little ways down the road and turned up Edward's drive, pulling to a stop behind his Volvo.

Glancing down at her clothes, she suddenly wished she'd stopped and changed, she wasn't going to be comfortable for very long in what she had on. She only wore dress clothes for work purposes and hated the itchy fabric with a passion.

Bella stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door seeing movement through the window near the door but no one answered. "Edward! I know you're in there, I can see you moving around…" she called through the door.

She began pounding on it hoping it would annoy him enough for him to answer it and he did a moment later.

"What?"

"Hello to you too," she bit back snidely. "What's the problem?"

"I don't have one," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "What are you doing here? I don't remember inviting you over."

She stepped over the threshold pushing past him to walk into the living room. "Funny, I've never invited you over but you always show up."

"I haven't been over there in weeks."

"Yeah. Why is that? At first I thought you might be out of town or something but I've seen you drive by a few times so I know that can't be it."

Edward rolled his eyes and walked passed her into the kitchen. "I was trying to give you and your boyfriend uninterrupted alone time," he grumbled.

"What boyfriend?"

He grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and turned to look at her with narrowed eyes. "Jacob."

"Jacob's not my boyfriend. You know better than anyone I'm not ready to be in a relationship right now."

"So you say. I do believe I saw him leaving your house the morning after your 'friendly dinner'."

Bella smirked and approached him. "So, you left my house the morning after your party when you walked me home. What happened between us that night?"

"Nothing…"

"So what makes you think anything happened with Jacob?"

Edward shrugged and looked around nervously. "He was all dressed up and you looked amazing… Can't really say I'd blame him if something had happened."

"You're jealous," she stated, a smile pulling at her lips as she watched him turn away from her. "You are. You can't stand that I might date someone else before I give you a chance."

"I've got dibs…" he countered with a smirk.

"You've got dibs?" she cried, her voice raising an octave and causing him to cringe at the shrill sound. "Since when did people start putting dibs on me?"

"Since the day you got here." He scrunched his face up in confusion. "I don't know. I just know that you're driving me absolutely crazy Bella."

"Why?"

"Because I want you and you're so damn untouchable. You're all ready for friendship but you need more than that. I want more than that."

"You don't know what I need Edward, only I do." She shook her head and started to walk away from him, only to have him pull her back. He backed her up against the counter and rested his arms on either side of her, leaning in so close that his breath brushed against her cheek as he spoke.

"When's the last time you were with someone, Bella?"

Bella swallowed hard and looked away from him trying to ignore the heat she felt ignite inside of her as his words swept over her skin. She shook her head refusing to answer.

"When?"

"Edward…"

"_When_?"

She closed her eyes for a moment before looking up into his emerald gaze. "About ten months ago… before James and I split."

He reached up to cup her face in his hands then leaned in to brush his lips over hers. "Look if you not ready for a relationship, why not try something else. Friends with benefits?"

"Edward," she sighed, her frustration evident in her voice, hopefully he couldn't hear the excitement at the mere thought of having any kind of benefit with him. "I've…"

"What?"

She pulled away from him and walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch before burying her face in her hands.

"What is it?" Bella looked up at him with tears daring to fall from her eyes and he felt his heart constrict in anger. "What'd he do to you?"

Shaking her head she let out a small laugh. "He didn't do anything to me. It's just… James is the only guy I've been with. _Ever_. I just don't think I could have a casual relationship like that, with anyone. It's nothing against you I just don't know if I could do it. Sex has always had a deeper meaning to me, Edward. To me… love and sex go hand in hand. It's not something I can just do because the mood strikes me. It's not something I take lightly."

Edward sat next to her and pulled her into his arms, leaning back so that she rested her head on his shoulder. She lazily rested her arm across his stomach and he gently rubbed his hand over her shoulder. "Bella?"

"Hmmm?" She looked up at him with wide eyes and he lowered his head, capturing her lips with his, gently coaxing them open with his tongue.

Bella whimpered as he deepened the kiss and slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his lap so that she straddled him. As much as she wanted to fight it, she couldn't. She needed this, she needed Edward. She needed to feel beautiful and loved and that's exactly how he was making her feel even if it went against everything she believed in.

He pushed to the edge of the sofa and stood up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Quickly taking the stairs to his room, he closed the door and turned so that she was pinned against it as his body hardened at the heat he could feel between her legs.

Edward tore his mouth from hers and looked into her eyes. "You tell me and I'll stop…" he panted, only to have her drag his mouth back to hers as she assaulted his lips once again.

She took off his hat and tossed it across the room so she could bury her hands in his unruly bronze hair, as she continued her attack on his mouth, pulling away only long enough for Edward to pull his shirt over his head before he began to unbutton her blouse.

He carried her to the bed, gently laying her on the soft down comforter before lowering himself onto her. Kissing the hollow of her throat, he slowly scattered kisses over her collarbone and down her stomach stopping with a groan of frustration when the doorbell rang.

"Son of a bitch…"

Bella wrapped her arms around him, pulling him up her body to latch onto his mouth yet again. "Ignore them…"

He moaned as she slipped her hand between their bodies to cup his hardness and a soft giggle escaped her lips.

"Edward?!"

"Shit!" He moved away from her and checked to make sure his pants were zipped and pulled his shirt on as well as his hat doing what he could to mask the fact that her hands hand been running through his hair repeatedly.

"Does anyone _not_ just walk in around here?" she groaned, pulling on her shirt, carefully buttoning it to make sure the holes lined up right, not wanting to give away what they'd been doing.

Edward placed a quick kiss on her lips and left the room running down the stairs to the foyer. "Jacob? What are you doing here?"

"Just hadn't seen or talked to you in a while…" he said, casually looking around Edward.

"You saw Bella's car outside and decided to see what we were up to?"

"Huh? No I didn't…"

"Yes you did."

Jacob sighed. "Fine. I was just seeing what you were up to."

Bella stopped at the top of the stairs, listening as the two men talked and she closed her eyes and slid down the wall, sitting there with her face in her hands. She didn't know what she was doing anymore. She needed what Edward was offering right now. To feel beautiful and desired was something she hadn't felt in entirely too long.

Then there was Jacob.

He'd offered nothing but protection and friendship but deep down she knew it was more than that. The last thing she wanted was to cause a rift between two friends.

She smoothed her hair and walked down the stairs, slowly, peaking around to see where they were then she casually walked into the living room to join them, hoping her hair and flushed skin didn't give away her earlier entanglement. "Hey Jacob…"

He gave her a soft smile. "Hey." His eyes traveled over her and stopped momentarily where her nipples pressed against the thin layer of fabric then he looked back up at her face seeing her blush much more than usual. He shook his head and looked at Edward noticing the flushed look on his face as well.

It wasn't until that moment that he realized Edward had been walking extremely slowly.

"You guys were fucking weren't you?" he said, standing up to look between the two of them.

"NO!"

"Huh?"

"You were." Jacob's eyes locked with Bella's before she quickly looked away. He approached her and took her face in his hands making her look at him. "Just be careful…"

Bella stared up at him in confusion, barely containing a whimper as his lowered his head and took her bottom lip into his mouth before thrusting his tongue into her mouth. She grabbed on his arms as her legs threatened to fail her and before she knew it he was gone.

She leaned back against the arm of the sofa in a state of confusion. "I've got to go…"

"Bella," Edward called after her as she made a hasty exit. "Don't…"

She shook her head. "I've got to get out of here right now Edward. I'm sorry."

He sat on the top porch step and watched her drive away. "Fucker…"


	8. Chapter 7

_****__AN: Alright people, this is your last Drifting update for the week. You'll get White Flag tomorrow. Hopefully this will appease all of you until I get back on Tuesday, remember there will be no updates on Monday. You guys completely kick ass with all of your reviews and I love each and every one of you. Unless you're mean to me then not so much._

**_Now, I don't know how many of you are like me but I love a story that makes my heart literally ache, don't ask me why, glutton for punishment I suppose, but if you aren't reading Friend Boy by Teeny Tiny Twilight, you need to read it. I believe it's only got a few chapters left but my heart has literally been ripped out twice while reading this and I swear I love it. Me and my Doucheward love I suppose. Go figure but please check it! I know I don't normally pimp stories but I figured you guys are giving me some wonderful suggestions so I might as well return the favor. And if you aren't reading Private Tutor by 4theluvofMary you need to be chained and whipped, and you've also been living under a rock for the last few months. Her last chapter nearly killed me._**

_**Love you guys!**__**...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside.**_

_**Keep up the suggestions for Doucheward please. I'm sure I'll need plenty to read this weekend, our cabin has a pool table, my husband may ignore me all week!!**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Bella closed the front door and leaned back against it, sliding to the floor in a confused heap. What the hell had just happened? She'd let things go entirely too far with Edward, that she knew. But the last thing she'd expected was Jacob to kiss her the way he had.

It wasn't a passionate kiss just the slightest hint of pressure and it was gone, almost as if she'd imagined it. Then again maybe she had.

A small whimper and the sudden feel of a cold wet nose against her neck caused her to shiver and she couldn't contain her smile as Lizzie flopped down next to her and settled her head in her lap and rolled onto her back.

"Gee, Liz, thanks for comforting me," Bella replied dryly as she crossed her legs at the ankles and dropped her head back against the door, leisurely stroking the overgrown baby's belly. "What do I do Lizzie?"

* * *

The sound of excessive barking woke Bella early the next morning. She buried her head underneath the covers but Lizzie jumped into the bed and pulled the warmth away.

"Fine, I'm up… I'm up…" Bella grumbled, casting an agitated look at the seemingly smug animal. Releasing a loud yawn, she raised her arms over her head and stretched leisurely then glanced at the clock to find it was just barely seven. "I'm giving you a sleeping pill before bed tonight Lizzie, it's too early for Saturday."

She gingerly made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen coming to a sudden stop at the door. "What the hell are you doing here?" she snapped watching the man that expertly worked his way around her kitchen as he cracked open an egg and dropped it into the frying pan.

"Nice to see you too, Bells…"

* * *

Jasper leaned against the doorframe watching his friend in silence. He hadn't spoken a word since he'd gotten there and from the looks of it, he wasn't planning on it anytime soon.

"Edward?" He got no response as he inched his way into the room and sat down in the recliner nearest the sofa. "Edward?"

"Huh?" Edward finally responded, blinking a few times as if trying to focus on the man in front of him. "Jasper, hey man. What are you doing here?"

Jasper frowned. "Well I've been trying to get in touch with you since last night, Ali wants Bella's number so they can get together and have some girl time, but I never could get you to answer the phone so I decided to drop by on my way to the lake. You look like hell."

"Yeah," Edward snorted in response. "Thanks for that. Really helping my already shitty mood."

"Well, I can't help unless you tell me why you're in it."

With a defeated sigh, Edward leaned his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. "Do you think it's possible to fall in love with someone that you barely know?"

"I think it's possible to fall in love with someone the minute you lay eyes on them. But what's th… You're in love with Bella aren't you?" Jasper asked with an indifferent laugh. "I knew something was up. You've been too well behaved lately. Well tell her…"

Edward stood up and began pacing the floor in front of the television, shaking his head. "I can't. She's not ready… And I really screwed up."

"There's no way you could've screwed up unless you had sex with her sister or best friend or something. You didn't, did you?"

"What? I don't even think she has a sister and as far as I know her dog's her best friend so no. I just… She came over last night and things went a little too far, then Jacob had to go and muck things up by interrupting and then he threw in a kiss before he left. After that she was confused as hell and left before I could get a word in. I'm scared to death I screwed up. I mean what if she's it for me and I never get the chance because I jumped the gun because I followed my dick instead of my heart?"

Jasper watched Edward carefully, understanding exactly where he was coming from but doubting that he'd screwed things up for good. "Edward? Did you force her into anything or was she a willing participant?"

"I would never force her…"

"Then I think it's safe to say there's still a chance. Screw what Jacob did. It's not him she went to. She came to you."

"So what do I do? Give her time to come back to me or do I go over there and tell her how I really feel about her?"

Edward watched Jasper for a moment then rolled his eyes. "Why the hell am I asking you this? Alice is the one and only girl you've ever dated and you guys have been together since you were ten, now you're married so it's not like you're the all knowing power on women."

"Hey! That's uncalled for…"

"But true…"

Jasper shrugged, knowing he couldn't disagree. "Wait until noon. If you don't hear from her by then, just go over and make sure she's okay."

"Right," he replied. "I'm just going to run get a shower. Need to look the best I can."

"Don't over do it. You can't improve your looks without a shitload of money and a good doctor," Jasper chuckled. "Then again you have that."

"Don't you have some place you need to be?"

Jasper nodded, standing quickly, stopping to give Edward an encouraging slap on this back on his way to the door. "Just relax man. It'll all work out."

* * *

Edward pulled into the driveway and sat staring at the front door of Bella's house willing him to get out and walk up the porch steps. He could do this. He knew he could. The only problem was every time he thought he'd found the one, things seemed to backfire. Big time.

But this was different. He had never felt this way about anyone before. And if nothing else he knew Bella liked him for who he was. Not Edward Cullen, heir to the Cullen fortune and bachelor of the year. Just Edward.

He opened the door of his car and stepped out, taking his time approaching the increasingly intimidating porch. He climbed the stairs slowly then reached out, barely brushing his finger over the doorbell but knew immediately that it had rung when Lizzie hit the door full force.

The last thing he was expecting when the door opened was to find a man standing there looking entirely too comfortable. No shoes, no socks, ragged jeans and no shirt. When his eyes finally fell on the man's face, he registered pure awe.

"Holy shit! You're Edward Cullen," he heard coming out of the man's mouth.

Edward clenched his jaw, doing his best to reign in his temper. He already didn't like this guy. "Seems like one of us is at an advantage. Who the hell are you?"

The guy ran a hand over his close cropped blond head and tugged momentarily at his left ear. "Oh sorry, man. I'm James Hunter. Can I help you with something?"

"I'm looking for Bella."

"What? How do you…"

Before he could finish, Bella's voice sounded from behind him. "Edward?" She stepped around the man holding the door and walked onto the porch, pulling the door out of James' hand to close it firmly behind her as soon as Lizzie stepped out and motioned for Edward to follow her to the swing.

He sat next to her, stretching his arm along the back of the swing, inhaling sharply when she leaned into his side. "Who the hell is that, Bella?"

"The reason I'm here. I don't know how he found me, all I know is when I woke up this morning he was in the kitchen making breakfast like this was his house and everything was normal again."

"Tell him to get out."

"I tried that. I told him I'd moved on that he had no business here and he needed to get his things and leave."

"What'd he say to that?"

"That his flight wasn't leaving until next Friday and he didn't have money for a hotel."

Edward sighed. "Sweetie, I know you probably don't have it in you, but throw him out on his ass, please. I'll get him a room somewhere as long as he doesn't bother you. You don't need him here. Better yet I'll have my jet take his ass back to wherever he came from or quite possibly Siberia. I want him far away from you."

"Why are you here Edward?" She asked, cutting him off. "Not that I mind of course, I'm just curious."

"To see if you were okay… after…"

A gentle smile pulled at her lips and she reached up, placing her palm to his cheek. "I'm fine. I'm sorry I ran out like that last night, part of me was embarrassed that we got caught the other part of me was scared to death and confused. Please, don't feel like you did anything wrong. You've been nothing but great since I moved here I just… I didn't plan on you."

Those words brought a smile to his face. "In a good way though?"

"Absolutely."

Edward brushed her hair out of her face and leaned forward placing a kiss to her forehead. "So, would I be too presumptuous in asking you to dinner tonight?"

Bella appeared to think for a minute before shaking her head. "Not at all."

"Seven sound good?"

"Perfect." She smiled up at him and watched curiously as he stood and strode to the door, opening it roughly.

"Edward? What are you doin?"

He just looked back at her and smiled. "Just taking care of your house guest."

Bella stepped inside with Lizzie on her heels and jumped out of the way as Edward grabbed James by the arm and ushered him to the door. He stopped just before crossing the threshold and leaned down, brushing a light kiss over her lips. "I'll see you tonight."

She closed the door and watched from the window as he pushed James towards his car and shoved him in, quickly tossing his bag into the backseat before pulling away. "Looks like we've got a date tonight Miss Liz…"

* * *

Just after two, the doorbell rang and Bella warily made her way to the door. She was expecting this visit, assuming it was the person she thought it to be. Upon opening the door, she wasn't disappointed.

She stepped aside and motioned for Jacob to come in, though she wasn't sure how he noticed. His head was hanging shamefully and his hands were stuffed deeply into the pockets of his jeans.

"Hey," he mumbled warily as he cast a quick glance at her and sat in the recliner, the first thing he'd come to. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for Jacob."

His eyes widened as he looked up at her. "Yes there is. I never should've barged in like I did last night and I certainly shouldn't have kissed you. I don't know why I did it. Now Edward's gonna kill me."

"It's alright Jacob."

"I think I only did it to protect you," he continued to ramble. "I don't know what it is about you that makes me so protective. I know you're not some weak vulnerable little girl but …"

"Jacob. Shut up. Everything's fine. I appreciate that you're concerned about me. I don't feel quite so alone knowing that if I ever need protecting I've got you. And Edward's not going to kill you. He came over this morning, we talked, everything is fine."

Jacob watched the expression that played across her face as she spoke of Edward and gave a resigned sigh. "You're going to go out with him aren't you?"

"Yeah," she replied softly, nodding slowly as she did so.

Suddenly, he was Mr. Protective again. "If he hurts you I'll kill him."

"Yes, I know."

"And I know you almost did last night, but don't give it up to him too easily. Make him work for it at least."

A soft laugh escaped at the pleading look in his eyes. "I will. Now, I need to get a shower and get Lizzie fed. I woke up to James being here this morning and until Edward came by it was absolutely nerve-wracking."

"What? James? Where is he now?"

She patted him on the shoulder as she led him to the door. "Don't worry. Edward led him out and took him to the airport, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some threats thrown out on the way there."

Once they reached the door he turned towards her and pulled her into his arms, gently resting his chin on top of her head as he idly rubbed his hands up and down her back. "It never would've worked out between us anyway, what with working together and all… Just please be careful. Guard yourself, even if it is someone you think you know."

"I will. Thank you." She stepped up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Bye Jake."


	9. Chapter 8

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_****__AN: Hi people! You would've gotten this yesterday but if you tried to log on at all you know why it didn't work. seemed to be having some problems. This is a bit shorter than I wanted it to be yet again but there's only so much stretching I can do. And I'm making up things as I go so I don't know how many of you are in marketing and advertising and how many conferences are actually involved or how long they are so just bear with me and remember this is fiction._

_**Keep up the suggestions for Doucheward please. I've got a to read list about five miles long at the moment but I'm determined to get it done. And if you aren't reading Snowed In by eclipsedawn you need too. Its wonderful and ironically we nearly got snowed into our cabin this weekend on our vacation so it was a nice read while watching the snow fall. And also mischief-maker1 is apparently trying to give all of us ulcers with Miami at Twilight, but I'd like to thank her for how the last chapter ended... even though it should've kept going :D.**_

_****__**Love you guys!**__**...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. Hopefully this chapter doesn't suck, personally I wasn't impressed with it but thats cause I wrote it.**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

* * *

Chapter Eight

Edward untied his tie yet again. He couldn't get the damn thing on straight and just short of strangling himself, he finally submitted and called his aunt over to help him.

Esme Cullen chuckled as he opened the door for her. His face was red and flustered, his hands were clammy and he was very antsy. "Edward, if you don't get still I'm going to choke you with this. Where are you going anyway?"

He sighed in response. "Dinner… a d… a date."

"I want to meet this girl," she said as she straightened his tie.

"What?! No… why?"

For the first time that night a sincere smile crossed her lips. "Because I've never seen you this nervous and worked up over a girl before. Ever. I think it's sweet. It also means she doesn't have a clue who you really are and I can't tell you how happy I am about that."

Edward nodded, a smile pulling at his lips. "She works with Jacob actually."

"What's her name?"

"Bella Swan," he replied, his voice taking on a dreamlike tone.

"That's a beautiful name, you can't get much more perfect than that can you?"

He glanced at the clock. 6:50.

"Shit! I gotta go, I told her I'd pick her up at 7. Do I look okay?"

Esme stepped back and took in his appearance. He'd actually gone through the trouble of having his tailor send him a new suit and black dress shirt. She watched as he slipped on the black coat and then straightened his baby blue tie once again. "You look great Edward."

"You're the best." He quickly kissed her cheek and rushed out the door to his car, waving one last time before he pulled out of the drive.

* * *

Bella was pacing in front of the door as she listened to the huge grandfather clock in the foyer tick down the minutes. 6:59.

The moment the clock began its hourly bells the doorbell rang. She took a deep breath, and absently checked her dress, hoping she wasn't overdone. He hadn't told her what they were doing tonight but she felt the need to dress up. If he was in jeans, she could quickly change.

Doing her best to keep her nerves in check, she reached out for the door and slowly opened it.

She smiled as Edward held out a single wildflower, finding it more beautiful than any bouquet he could've spent money on. "Thank you," she replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he stepped inside.

"You look amazing," he said softly taking a deep breath as she turned for him giving him a full view of the dress. It was just as perfect as she was and definitely just as sexy. It was a ¾ sleeve deep navy blue with an a-line skirt that stopped just below her knees and a v-neck that plunged to meet the empire-waist of the dress showing just enough cleavage to be tasteful and downright seductive at the same time."Yes, definitely amazing. Ready?"

She nodded and he took her coat off of the hook by the door and helped her put it on then led her out of the house, both of them taking time to say goodbye to Lizzie as they did so.

They rode in comfortable silence, until Bella couldn't stand it any longer and broke it. "So ?"

Edward looked over at her and laughed. "Are you going to the conference in Santa Barbara next week?"

She looked at him a bit confused. "What conference?"

"The ARF conference? It's a big deal for the advertising market. I'm surprised no one's mentioned it to you. Everyone goes at least Jacob, Emmett, Jasper and I do, along with most of the other department heads at the biggest agencies in the country. After the big conference we normally spend every other weekend out of town schmoozing prospective clients. Some weekends we'll be here, some we could be in Europe, you never can tell."

"All of you will be gone? But you and Jacob work for completely different companies, do you go after the same clients?"

"Yeah. We often go after the same clients but being that we're such good friends it's more friendly competition than anything else. Sometimes we get the client, sometimes you guys do. There's a reason both of our organizations are still thriving after all of these years. We don't play dirty and when our clients see that there's camaraderie between our two companies it makes our offers much more attractive. No one wants to get caught in the middle of a nasty dispute between two large agencies such as ours."

"So all of you will be gone, that completely sucks it's going be lonely up here," she frowned. She hadn't even considered the possibility that there was that much traveling involved in their line of work but considering the popularity of Edward's company all over the world as well as Volturi, she shouldn't have been surprised. It just sucked that should wouldn't be able to spend time with them on the weekends much if at all and now they were all going to be gone for two weeks. "What does Jasper do anyway?"

"Jasper is our account manager. He's pretty much in charge of keeping track of budgets and ideas for each of our accounts."

"In other words he's a glorified organizer?"

"Yeah."

"So even Emmett's going to be gone?"

"Even Emmett. Despite his childish behavior and complete lack of tact he's actually a very good project leader. Why? Were you planning on hooking up with him while we're gone?"

She rolled her eyes. "No I was going to invite him over for facials, manis and pedis, Rosalie as well. Couldn't hurt to kiss up to her a little I suppose. I'm still trying to figure out why she hates me so much. Alice called me today to see if I wanted to go shopping with her this weekend. I suppose I could spend my weekends with her."

"Some weekends you could but she normally travels with Jasper, being the shopaholic that she is, the more places she visits the larger her hunting grounds."

They laughed as he pulled into a spot overlooking a lake and shut off the car. "As for Rosalie, she's jealous. Emmett's got a little crush on you and won't shut up about you which is not a good thing. Rosalie has yet to realize that the world doesn't exactly revolve around her."

"Edward? It's winter…" Bella finally spoke up as she took in her surroundings.

He threw her an innocent grin and jumped out of the car, walking around to her side to help her out then led her down the long pier to a large yacht. "It's not that cold tonight, fairly warm considering the season. Besides we'll be inside unless you just want to come out here.

She shivered as he stepped on board then helped her over. "I've never been on a yacht before."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've pretty much stuck to fishing and pontoon boats. Not that this isn't…"

Her voice faded as she stepped inside and her eyes fell on a candlelit table set for two. "Edward..."

With a nervous laugh, he helped her out of her jacket and led her to the table, pulling her chair out for her before sitting across from her.

"You didn't have to go through so much trouble for me you know," she smiled as a man she could only assume was their waiter for the evening stepped forward pouring them each a glass of wine before placing their salads on the table.

"Yes I did. I wanted this to be special. After entirely too much time with James today, I realized no one's probably ever done something like this for you. At least I know he hasn't."

"Thank you."

They ate in silence, listening to the gentle lap of water against the side of the yacht. Once they were done, Edward stood and offered to help her to the sundeck, though it was well into a February night. The wine had done a very nice job of warming them both and a nice stroll in the chilly air would be perfect.

He helped her with her jacket then led her outside and she stared up at the clear winter sky while hugging her arms tightly around her. "It's gorgeous out here. I wish I'd moved here years ago."

Edward slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her body back to rest against his simply enjoying having her in his arms. "I'm just looking forward to the first time we can get you out here in a skimpy little bikini."

She rolled her eyes, gently elbowing him in the stomach before turning in his arms and slipping hers around his waist. "This has been wonderful Edward. Definitely the best first date I've ever had."

He smiled down at her, wanting so badly to kiss her yet fighting it until she gave him the go ahead. He didn't want this to end up like it had the night before.

Bella licked her lips, her gaze locked on his. "You can kiss me you know. I'm not going to run this time."

"That's all I was waiting on," he replied in a slow velvety drawl as he lowered his head brushing his mouth gently against hers before pushing his tongue through the barrier of her lips.

She opened to him, letting him touch every inch of her before returning the favor and pulling away breathless. "I think that's going to have to be it for tonight…" she panted, her breathing severely labored.

"I tell you what, we'll just sit out here and make out like teenagers. No touching beneath the clothes or below the waist. Will that work? We'll keep it PG." he chuckled.

She pursed her lips at him, all the while backing towards one of the benches. "I suppose."


	10. Chapter 9

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_****__AN: Hey people! How's it going? Thanks for all of the reviews on the last chapter. Sorry I kept things PG but I promise it won't stay that way. I mean how could it, it's Edward. I promise you'll get more than PG soon enough so just bear with me. Hopefully you all still love me though. I know I can be hard to love at times._

**And I just want to say congrats to David! I'm not sure if he's reading this story yet, not that he would admit it to anyone, but he and his wife had their baby on Tuesday and he is absolutely the most adorable, precious child I've ever seen. Of course I want to steal him and I don't give him up unless someone comes to take him from me but how could anyone let go of something that sweet. If I didn't have baby fever before I certainly have it now.**

**Also... if you can stomach Jasper/Bella even though it's a Edward/Bella story I would like to pimp Primal Needs by AllIHaveIsYou , its yummy. I know some of you absolutely cringe at the thought of Bella with anyone but Edward but Jasper/Bella is just wrong enough to be right and that's all I have to say about that.**

**Love you guys!__****...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

* * *

Chapter Nine

Jacob poked his head into Bella's office first thing Monday morning, unable to withhold his smile as he watched her singing softly while she typed rapidly at her computer. "Is this a free concert or does it cost to turn up the volume?" he chuckled, rapping his knuckles on the door to get her attention.

She looked up at him with bright eyes and an even brighter smile. "Morning," she chirped.

"So I guess things went well?" he inquired, strolling into the office to flop into one of the chairs across from her.

"It was wonderful."

He narrowed his eyes, watching her closely before slowly nodding his head. "He didn't force…"

"There was nothing but kissing for your information. Not that you need to know that but he was a perfect gentleman the entire night."

"Well, give him time."

"Jacob Black!"

"What?! I'm just saying. I know Edward. He'll screw it up. He always does. Why do you think he's still single?"

She tightened her lips at him. "If you can't be nice and supportive you can get out of here."

"Sorry, I just don't want to see you get hurt for jumping in head first."

"I'm not, but I had a great time the other night, just let me enjoy it for a little while before you kill it for me alright?"

He nodded and stood up to leave. "Lunch?"

"Sure."

"12:30 work for you?"

"Perfect."

* * *

At 12:30 sharp, a loud knock sounded at Bella's office door. She closed down the file she was working on and grabbed her purse then started out only to come face to face with an extravagant arrangement of flowers.

"Delivery…" she heard in a muffled tone, pushing the flowers aside expecting to see a delivery boy, possibly Edward but certainly not who she found.

"Emmett?"

"Quit the chit chat and tell me where to put these. They're breaking my arm…" he groaned, gingerly stepping into the office to allow her to guide him to a corner table. With an overdramatic sigh, he straightened after placing the vase down then grabbed his lower back before turning to the woman at his side. "You're lucky I like you."

She smiled and pinched his cheek affectionately before patting it with an open palm. "Same to you. Wow, these are gorgeous," she murmured, her eyes roaming over the exquisite arrangement of stargazer lilies and pink roses with some purple larkspur thrown in. "Absolutely gorgeous."

Emmett just rolled his eyes. "Either you must have done something really right or Edward did something really wrong but judging from the smile on your face I'm thinking you did something right."

Bella shook her head. "No, Edward did."

With a snort he patted her comfortingly on the back. "Give it time."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?!" she said the clenched teeth, the exasperation evident in her voice.

"Cause we know Edward entirely too well," a third voice chimed in.

Both Emmett and Bella turned to find Jacob leaning against the door jamb. "You ready?"

She nodded. "You want to join us for lunch delivery boy?"

Emmett just gave her a short smile. "Nah. You kids have fun. I've got a tip to pick up."

They watched Emmett walk down the hall towards the entrance and Bella fell in step next to Jacob, looking up at him as he threw an arm around her shoulders. "So what do you want to eat?"

"Surprise me."

* * *

Emmett shuffled into Cullen Advertising, walking directly into Edward's office without so much as a knock and plopped down on the couch. "So I've been thinking…"

"That's never a good thing," Edward offered with a short laugh, not bothering to look up from the papers on his desk.

"Well… Bella works with Jacob. Jacob's an ad exec. Why isn't she going to the conference?"

Edward furrowed his brow. "Don't think anymore Emmett. It makes you sound stupid when you say your thoughts out loud."

"Seriously Edward, why isn't she going to Santa Barbara?"

"Because she doesn't really have something to do there. She's a graphic designer for Jacob's team. That's not really anything for her."

"She can hang out with us."

"Uh huh. You think Aro's gonna pay her for that?" Edward replied starting to get annoyed.

"Well, she's not familiar with the whole advertising thing, this is her first job working with an agency. She needs to get out there and see what she's up against. See what the big deal is. See what a big deal you are."

Edward grew quiet. Emmett was right on the point that Bella needed to see what she was up against but he kind of liked the fact that Bella didn't care about the big deal. That meant she actually liked him for him. Not who he was in the eyes of their field or how other people reacted to him. To be honest the thought of what she could see at the conference scared him to death.

The first time she saw the women that liked to make it a point to get his attention, she'd be gone. He didn't want things to end like that now or ever. Yes, he wanted her to see him in his element and doing his thing but at the same time, he wasn't sure he wanted her to be there to see him.

"I think that might be too much for her right now, Emmett. Let's just ease her into it alright. If Aro wants her at the conference then she'll be there, if not I'm not going to push it. The last thing she needs to see is the long line of women waiting to get a glimpse of the most eligible bachelor as chosen by Forbes."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Whatever. She's out with Jacob right now you know."

"So," Edward sighed, he knew Emmett was trying to make him jealous but it wasn't going to work. "They work together. They have lunch together. Not a problem with me. I'm the one she chose to be with not him so I've got no problems with that."

"You aren't the slightest bit worried that he's going to try to change that?"

Edward put his pencil down and looked at the younger man who seemed to have nothing better to do with his time than bug the shit out of him. "Emmett. Jacob's my friend. I trust him alright. I trust Bella. I have no doubt in my mind that if something were to happen to come between Bella and I that Jacob would be there to pick up the pieces but he's not going to worm his way in. I know he's just waiting by in the wings for me to screw up like I always do. Hopefully this time, I won't give him the opportunity."

"Alright suit yourself. Now... how about that tip for the flower delivery? You said fifty right?"

Edward nodded and reached into his pocket then put the money in Emmett's hand.

"What the fuck man!?" Emmett yelped. "You said fifty."

"That is fifty, Emmett."

"It's two quarters!"

"Uh-huh. Fifty... cents. I didn't specify. Now get out of here. I've got work to do."

* * *

"So, you gonna miss me while I'm gone?"

Bella cocked her head to the side, giving a short laugh to the man sitting on the steps of her porch. "Like a hemorrhoid."

He rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his dark hair before standing. Placing a hat backwards on his head, he sat on the porch swing next to her and ruffled her hair. "That's not right Bella. After all I've done for you."

"You mean like watching me carry boxes and unload my car without offering to help. Or flirting with me when you have a drop dead gorgeous girlfriend who wants to kick my ass? Oh and of course I'm going to miss you trying to peak through the keyhole in my bathroom while I'm in the shower."

A furious blush crossed his cheeks. "I didn't know you were the one in the shower."

"It's my house!" she laughed, enjoying the flustered state of the man at her side. "I clearly remember telling you and Edward both I was going to get a quick shower when you guys came over the other night."

"You should've showered before we got here."

"Emmett, would you shut up," she growled between clenched teeth as she hit the bill of his hat sending it flying across the porch.

He came after her just as she'd suspected he would and she quickly wrapped her arm around his neck, bending him down to give him a full force noogie, which was much easier than it should've been seeing that he nearly doubled her in size.

"STOP!" he yelped, pulling out of her grasp. "Damn it woman! I got a date with Rosalie tonight and I can't do that with my hair all askew."

Bella's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Did you really just say askew?"

"You're lucky I like you or you'd so get it," he glared before forcefully shoving his hat back on his head.

"That hat isn't going to mess up your hair?"

"I'll style around it," he stated matter-of-factly before turning to find the source of chuckling in the doorway. "What's so funny?"

Edward leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Emmett and Bella carry on like long lost siblings. "I'm just waiting for you to go down."

"Hmph," Emmett snorted as he watched Bella walk towards Edward and lean up to give him a quick kiss. "Could you guys stop, that's disgusting…"

"Yeah because the many times I've walked in on you and Rose half naked in my house wasn't disgusting," Edward muttered as a shudder ran through him.

Smiling up at Edward, Bella pushed him inside and quickly closed the door behind her, locking it to keep Emmett out as Edward's arms slipped around her waist and pulled her tightly against his body. "I don't want you to go."

"I have to, it's part of my job," he smiled, kissing the tip of her nose softly. "Why don't you come with us?"

"Because it's my job to stay here and do other things," she pouted.

With a heavy sigh and a frown, he nodded slowly before resting his head against her. "I just hate leaving you so early into this."

"Well, be happy I don't know enough about your history to not trust you while you're gone," she quipped, though deep down she was nervous as hell that he was going to do the inevitable screwing up that everyone kept warning her about.

He gave a low chuckle and held her close as they rocked a little in the foyer trying to have a quiet moment alone before he left.

"Guys!" Emmett called, banging on the door. "Let me in! Please hurry, there's a gigantic waspy thingy out here that's trying to kill me."

Bella laughed and opened the door. "And you call yourself a man."


	11. Chapter 10

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**Love you guys!_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

_****__AN: Hiya everyone! I know you're all surprised to be getting an update on Sunday but who knew my mom was going to buy me a laptop yesterday. It's awesome, I'm spoiled now and I get to write from home instead of trying to fit it in around work. And seeing that its snowing a good bit today in lovely Birmingham and my husband is pouting that I dont want to go out in it, I decided to write some and give you guys an update. Also, I wont be updating Thursday or Friday because I will be out of town at a conference and wont have time for anything else, especially fan fic. :( _

**Now for another story suggestion... The Red Line by WinndSinger is amazing! Judging by the amount of reviews she's gotten I'm sure some of you have already gotten to it. If not I strongly suggest you get to it. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**

* * *

Chapter Ten

Jacob leaned back in the chair across the desk from Aro watching him with feigned interest. "Not to be rude, but I do have to pack," he stated as he looked at his watch. He'd been sitting in Aro's office for half an hour and he had yet to say a word to him.

"Just a minute, I'm waiting on Bella then I'll get down to business."

As if on cue, she entered the office, casting a brilliant smile at Jacob as she sat next to him. "Sorry, I was on the phone with Mars about some copyright problems we've run into. It's taken care of now."

Aro smiled and gave her a short nod. "Alright, I'm sure you're wondering why I have you both here especially since the plane leaves for Santa Barbara in four hours."

Bella just watched him politely before straightening her wrinkled skirt.

"Bella, I want you to go to the conference."

"What?" She looked up at him quickly, her mouth hanging open in wonder. "But… I…"

Aro just chuckled and looked over at Jacob whose brow was raised with curiosity. "You haven't been working here that long and your work to date has been impeccable but I want you to get to the conference and see what some of the other guys have got going on. You've never been involved in advertising before is that correct?"

She shrugged and nodded her head.

"Well, though I have absolutely no complaints where your work is concerned, I just want you to get in on the action. Get a feel for the field. I think it will greatly improve your input on things regarding our current accounts and some of the others we'll be looking at in the future."

Bella cast a quick look at Jacob before turning back to Aro. "Wait, I've got four hours to pack for two weeks?"

"Yes, we'll three really. You've got to be on the plane half an hour prior to take off."

"Are you crazy?!" She jumped to her feet and started for the door before stopping again. "Wait, is that all you needed us for?"

"Yes."

"Okay," she hurried out of the office only to come back a moment later. "Wait, how am I getting there."

"Company plane," Aro said calmly chuckling as she ran off yet again before popping her head back into the off. "There's a two bedroom suite already booked for you and Jacob at the hotel where the conference is being held. Everything's taken care of."

With another short nod, she took off, leaving Jacob and Aro alone.

"You think you could maybe check with me before booking us a shared suite. How do you know I won't make friends over the next few weeks, I can be rather persuasive?"

Aro pursed his lips at the younger man. "Because I've watched you pining over her for weeks now. I'm not stupid. It's the perfect opportunity for you to make your move."

"She's dating Edward."

"Edward Cullen?"

Jacob rolled his eyes emphatically at his boss' stupidity. "Yes Edward Cullen. The golden boy of advertising."

"Hmph. She's too good for him. Seems a little naïve as well, how did that happen? That's a match made in hell."

"I don't really want to talk about it Aro. See ya at two."

Jacob strode out of Aro's office with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He didn't want her sharing a suite with him that would definitely cause problems between him and Edward. On top of that, he needed to learn to conceal his feelings a little better, especially if Aro could read him that easily.

* * *

Bella sat next to Jacob with her eyes closed and her hands gripping the armrests so hard her knuckles had gone white.

"Bella, you can open your eyes and take off your seat belt now."

She slowly shook her head. "Nope. I'm not doing a damn thing until I'm firmly on the ground again."

He chuckled. "So did you get in touch with Edward?"

"No. I tried a few times but it went straight to his voicemail. I'll just see him when we get there."

Jacob nodded slowly before looking out of the window. He prayed that Edward really felt something for Bella because the last time he'd been around when someone surprised Edward things ended badly. Very badly.

It was never a good thing when unexpected wives or girlfriends showed up at these conferences. He'd seen many a man go down to the innocent surprise.

* * *

Bella looked at her watch and then out of the tinted windows of the Expedition that drove her and Jacob to The Biltmore Santa Barbara. It was nearing sunset and as tired as she was from the hurried packing and trip down, she was anxious to have some fun.

She'd been to California a few times but never for any extended stay, just some random shopping trips with her mother growing up and she'd never been to Santa Barbara. Some friends of hers had gone during high school for spring break. After a week of getting drunk and crazy two of them found out a few months later that they were pregnant with some strangers' kids and they weren't even sure what stranger it was. Santa Barbara had scared her in high school.

Hell, everything had scared her in high school.

But she was a grown woman now and she was going to have some fun. And while there may be drinking involved, she sure as hell wasn't going to screw some stranger.

"Are you alright?" Jacob asked quietly, watching with fascination as the city lights danced over her face, sparkling in her bright eyes.

With a short nod, she smiled at him. "I'm fine. You?"

"Well, I've got the feeling back in my hand now, so I'm good. 100%."

Bella blushed. "I'm really sorry. I didn't know that was your hand until you screamed, you should've told me. I just don't do well with planes."

"Yeah, at least I know not to sit next to you on the way back."

"Smart ass…Wow…"

She opened the window to look out at the looming monstrosity of the resort as they stopped to check in with gate before pulling down the long winding drive coming to a stop at the front entrance. "This place is huge…" she muttered in awe.

Jacob chuckled as they walked into the elaborate lobby, stopping momentarily at the registration desk to pick up their keys.

"Come on Bells, we're here," he said a moment later as they stepped off of the elevator and came to a stop between a set of doors. He quickly swiped his key through the reader and stepped back for her to proceed him into the suite. He turned back to get their bags before stepping inside, taking his bags back to his room before joining Bella in the living room.

"This place is amazing."

"And it's not even the most elaborate one in the resort."

Her mouth fell open in amazement. "You're kidding…"

"Nope. Your boy keeps that one booked a year in advance. I'm going to go round up the guys and see what they want to do tonight. You game for goin out?"

"Absolutely!"

He smiled at the excitement on her face. "Alright, you get freshened up. Get yourself settled and get a shower , whatever you need to do to get ready.I'm going to figure out what's goin on and I'll be back in a few."

* * *

Jacob stood at the door of Edward's suite with a feeling a dread in the pit of his stomach. He hoped beyond hope, if for nothing other than Bella that Edward was behaving this week. He knocked on the door and waited a few minutes but nothing happened so he walked over to Emmett and Jasper's suite to do the same.

"Hey Jake, what's up man?" Emmett yawned, scratching his shirtless chest.

"Not much, have you seen Edward?"

Emmett shrugged. "He was heading down to the lounge about half an hour ago, he had an interview with someone from… um… I have no fucking clue. Try there."

With a quick nod, Jacob made no time getting to the lounge. He walked through the door looking around the main area of the lounge but finding it fairly empty. He rounded the bar towards the back area of the lounge and peaked his head around the corner.

There sat Edward, alone in a round booth in the farthest corner of the lounge, his laptop open on the table in front of him as he chewed on his fingernails.

"You don't have anything better to do around here?" Jacob blurted out, scaring his friend in the process.

"Jesus Jacob! Don't do that! I'm freaking old man…"

Edward placed his hand over his chest, willing his heart rate to slow down as he watched the bigger man sit next to him, sneaking a peak at the screen.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

"I'm trying to find something for Bella for Valentine's Day. I know we just started dating but it still sucks I won't be there to take her out, so I thought it'd be nice to have something delivered to her. I can take her somewhere special when I get back."

Jacob stared at his friend in utter amazement. "Seriously?"

"Well, yeah. I don't normally look at sites called Your Romance for no reason."

"What is that anyway?"

"Personalized romance novels. I was going to get one made for her."

"Is she the romance novel sort?"

Edward shrugged. "I saw three full boxes of them in her office. Either she likes them or she's toting something illegal disguised as chicky porn."

With a slow nod, Jacob slapped him on the back. "We goin out tonight?"

"Nah man. I'm gonna head back to the room and give Bella a call then go to bed."

"Come on. Please, dude, I'm bored. I promise she won't mind. "

Edward eyed the man next to him suspiciously. "Look I know you're just waiting for me to fuck up so you can have your go at her, but I'm not gonna screw up this early. And I certainly hope I don't screw up at all."

"I'm not tryin to get you to screw up. I just want to go do something tonight."

Edward closed down his computer and stood, scratching the back of his head as Jacob followed him out of the lounge. "I'll go with you to get a few beers but I'm not clubbin."

"Fine. Meet me at my suite in half an hour and tell Emmett too."


	12. Chapter 11

___****__AN: Hey everyone! Sorry this is later than usual but I was expanding the chapter a bit and I'm quite proud of myself. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it. Now I've got to go read the fifteen thousand updates that I got emailed to me in the last few days because apparently even people that havent updated in months decided to this weekend. So on top of reading the first book in the Morganville Vamp series which I read half of yesterday, I've got all those updates to read... AND work on a new story and the updates for this one and White Flag. I seriously just need to quite working and devote all of my time to fiction. Reading, writing... getting paid for it, not that it would happen but a girl can dream. Surely there's a job for me somewhere that just requires me to read books for a living._

**_Enjoy everyone!_**

****

**_Love you guys!...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!_

_

* * *

_

_Chapter Eleven_

Edward brushed his teeth and grabbed his cell phone, finding it turned off which would explain the lack of phone calls he'd received since arriving, apparently he'd forgotten to turn it back once he'd gotten off of the plane. He quickly dialed Bella's number before he got somewhere he wouldn't be able to hear only to frown when it went directly to her voicemail.

"Bella, hey, it's Edward. I just wanted to call you and let you know we got to Santa Barbara okay. I don't know if you've tried to call but I seem to have forgotten to turn my phone back on when we landed. We've got the rest of the night free before the conference starts tomorrow, our first meeting is around noon I believe but I'm not completely sure I haven't looked at the schedule yet. Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I wanted to hear your voice. Anyway… I'm about to go out with a few of the guys for a while so I'll try to call you tomorrow sometime before it gets too late. I miss you…uh,yeah ok then bye."

He closed his phone feeling like a complete dork at the ramblings that had just escaped his lips. Until he met Bella there had never been a time in his life when was a blubbering idiot. Now that they were dating, it seemed that every word that came out of his mouth when he was talking to her on the phone sounded like it was coming from some prepubescent boy who'd finally discovered the opposite sex. When he was actually with Bella there was less blubbering but she still had a way about her that would stop him in his tracks and left him in complete awe.

He sighed then grabbed his room key and took the short walk to the elevators then down to Jacob suite.

Emmett met him halfway and entertained him with his plans to get a girl tonight, which he quickly followed with ragging Edward on his lack of getting dressed up for a night out. Edward in turn reminded him that there was such a thing as a camera phone and if he so much as talked to another girl that Rosalie would see every single bit of it in a lovely media message before four words were out of his mouth.

He huffed in response and muttered something under his breath about hating for Bella to receive the same kind of message.

Edward stopped short and looked down at his jeans and long sleeve black button down. He looked decent enough to go out but he wasn't looking for a girl and he wasn't going to get all studded up for a night out with the boys. "I don't look that bad. I've got a girl back home and I sure as hell am not getting my ass dressed up for a bunch of losers like you guys."

They came to a stop outside of Jacob's suite to find a few guys they recognized from previous conferences with their ears to the door.

"So you've resorted to spying on Jacob? You really have no life do you?" Emmett chuckled.

One guy flicked him off as another he knew as Mike spoke. "He's got a hottie in there. We're just hoping for a little peek, a sound, anything..."

"How do you know she's a hottie if you haven't even seen her?" Edward asked, just as curious as they were about the woman with Jacob. As far as he knew, Jacob wasn't dating anyone. "Better yet, if she's so hot, why the hell is he going out with us?"

The moment the words were out of his mouth the group grew quiet in thought. He had a point.

Just then the door opened and Jacob stepped out, holding the door open for someone, neither Emmett nor Edward could see as they stood to the left of the door.

As the woman stepped out and Edward's disinterested gaze caught hers he straightened to his full height and his mouth fell open in shock as Jacob introduced her to the other men before she walked over to him.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Dude!? You really gonna let Edward take your girl like that?" Mike said in disbelief, hitting Jacob on the back. "Step up man. Don't let her do it."

"Shut up Newton."

Emmett watched the couple with a knowing smirk and smiled at Jacob before walking over to him. "How'd you get her down here?"

"I didn't. Aro did."

"What are you doing here?" Edward questioned as he raised his hands to cup her face, not giving her time to answer as he pressed his lips to hers.

Giving herself fully to the kiss, Bella slipped her arms around his waist and leaned into him before pulling away to catch her breath. "Aro thought I needed to experience the industry."

"Remind me to thank him. God I've missed you," he muttered, resting his forehead against hers.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "We've only been apart like… a day."

"Too long."

She pressed her lips to his quickly before turning back to the group of men that watched them. Two held their mouths open in awe as the other two just smiled. "Emmett!"

He laughed as she rushed to give him a hug and hurriedly apologized for not saying anything to him which he quickly dismissed. "No problem. I just want to party. Let's go!"

"Yeah… um," Edward started, obviously trying to think of what to say. "I'm not feeling very well. I think I'll just go back to my suite and lay down. Bella can stay and take care of me."

"That was real smooth," she giggled as all of the guys waved their hands at him in disbelief. "If I'm not going out then why did I just spend an hour getting ready?"

Her bottom lip poked out in a pout as Edward finally allowed his eyes roam over her. She was wearing a pair of low rise, well worn jeans, though if he had to guess they were made that way, and a flowing periwinkle tank top with ruffles around the neck and shoulders. As simple as the outfit was, she looked absolutely breathtaking and in all honesty he couldn't wait for everyone to know that he belonged to her, not the other way around.

"Fine, we'll go for a little while."

"Thank you."

* * *

Half an hour later the four of them walked through the doors of a small but stylish little night spot that overlooked the pier. The deck area was actually double the size of the interior which contained only a bar and a few pub tables as well as a tv. Outside however was where all of the action seemed to be taking place.

There were more pub tables around the perimeter of the deck which in reality was a outdoor dance floor and there were plenty of bodies already writhing against each other. There was a dj perched on a platform off that hung off of the side of the deck over the churning water of the Pacific.

"With all of the vibration and thumbing that's going on out here, there's no way in hell you could pay me enough money to hang over the water like that," Emmett shuddered. "You guys want anything to drink?"

Jake shook his head as Edward looked at Bella who nodded her head. "Just a Sprite for now, please."

"I'll go with you Em, Jake you mind keeping an eye on Bella for a few?" he asked, knowing there would definitely not be a problem. If anything Jake was the perfect guy to watch out for Bella when he wasn't around. And he'd already seen a few men eyeing her in the few minutes that they'd been there.

He nodded in agreement and grabbed her hand, pulling her onto the dance floor. "Let's dance, Bells!"

* * *

"You sure are trusting," Emmett muttered warily as he and Edward stepped up to the bar inside where talking was much easier due to the lack of music.

Edward turned to look out of the window searching for the two people he'd just left outside. "I trust Bella. I have no reason not to. As for Jacob… we'll see how that goes. He's waiting for me to fuck up and I have no intention of ever letting that happen. I can also see them clearly through the wall of windows so if he was going to try something it would be stupid to do it here."

Emmett followed Edward's line of sight until his gaze landed on Bella and Jacob. They were dancing about a foot apart, both of them appeared to making fun of the people dancing around them, it was actually quite entertaining to watch. "Can…"

"Yes you can dance with her tonight as long as you behave. When is Rose supposed to get in?"

"She and Alice are coming in tomorrow night. You know they never miss the opening night cocktail party if they can help it. They love their free alcohol."

The two men ordered their drinks then returned to the deck to find a table. There were a few empty tables on the side closest to the entrance so they sat down and watched as the song finished up and the rest of their group returned to the table.

"You guys have fun?"

Bella nodded and laughed casting an amused look in Jacob's direction.

"What'd I miss?" Edward asked seeing Jake's face redden in response to her gaze.

"Jake's been here five minutes and already has an admirer. They tried to cut in but apparently he's not what Jake's looking for in a dance partner."

Emmett's burst into laughter, his loud guffaws drawing attention to the four of them from a majority of the dance floor. "Oh shit man, that's priceless."

Bella slid into the chair next to Edward and offered up a sigh of contentment as his arm slipped around the back of her chair and his thumb brushed against her shoulder. "Where's Jasper tonight? I thought he was down here as well?"

"Oh, Jasper doesn't come out with us unless Alice is here. Apparently he's greatly affected by the overwhelming horniness of those grinding around him and if Ali's not here to take care of his needs he becomes quite the bear. It's actually quite ridiculous. I mean the man has a hand, he can always use it," Emmett replied without much tact.

She blushed at the insinuation but quickly raised her glass to her lips to try to draw attention away from her reddening cheeks.

A shiver rushed over her at the feel of Edward's lips against her ear. "Dance with me," he muttered in his velvety voice, not giving her much time to respond before he was out of his seat and pulling her to the dance floor.

Much to her mortification, My Neck, My Back by Khia had just begun pumping through the sound system.

All of the couples and trios that had been grinding on the floor somehow managed to get even closer, freeing up a bit of space on the floor for her and Edward to slip in and get away from their friends.

_All you ladies pop that thing like this  
Shake your body, don't stop, don't quit  
All you ladies pop that thing like this  
Shake your body, don't stop, don't quit  
Just do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now_

Edward pulled her tightly against him, slipping his leg between hers so that her already heated center was pressed snuggly against his thigh. "You look breathtaking tonight," he murmured against her neck.

He wrapped his right arm around her waist and slid the left up her back, bracing the back of her neck with his hand as he leaned her back and began pressing soft, lingering kisses up the column of her throat._Lick this, just like you should  
Right now, Lick it good  
Lick this just like you should  
My Neck, my back  
Lick my pussy and my crack_

My Neck, my back  
Lick my pussy and my crack  
My Neck, my back  
Lick my pussy and my crack  
My Neck, my back  
Lick my pussy and my crack  
My Neck, my back  
Lick my pussy and my crack

"Mmmm…" she moaned as his mouth brushed over her chin and claimed hers. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and threaded her fingers into his unruly hair as she ground her hips against his thigh with complete abandon. If this was proof of nothing else, she needed to get laid and quickly, but the last thing she was going to do was rush her relationship with Edward, physical needs be damned. As Emmett had just stated, we have hands, might as well use them.

Of course using her hands was the last thing she was thinking about has the arm that had been tightly locked around her waist slid down to knead her ass.

"Edward…"

He moaned into her mouth then pulled away to suck at her earlobe, nibbling it tenderly as he did so. Not long after he trailed his tongue up the side of her neck just below her ear and his unsteady breathing broke through her trance.

_First you gotta put your neck into it  
Ah, don't stop, just do, do it  
Then you roll your tongue, from the back up to the front  
Then ya get it off, keep me up on ya  
Make sure I keep my eyes on ya  
All over the club and stuff  
Real player show me so much love  
The best love comes slow and long  
Knows how to stay down on ya  
All night 'till the crack of dawn  
Real good, keep it comin' strong  
Through the night, making so much love  
In dead sleep when the sun comes up__My Neck, my back  
Lick my pussy and my crack  
My Neck, my back  
Lick my pussy and my crack_

So, lick it now, lick it good  
Lick this just like you should  
Right now, lick it good  
Lick this just like you should

She tugged on his hair, pulling his head away from her as she tried to steady her own breathing. Their eyes met and though his were fully clouded with lust there was something else there. "We need to cool off, Edward."

_You might roll dubs, you might have G's  
But so what player, get on your knees  
A girl like me moans and screams  
Thug misses know what I mean  
At the club so fresh, so clean  
Girls hatin' fellas watchin' me  
Standin' out in the line, so clean  
With a unit on my face, so mean  
I gotta pick which fella I need  
To take me out, spend his money on me  
Try me I'll make you see  
No other girl got nothin' me_He sighed in frustration and rested his forehead against hers but allowed her to pull him off of the dance floor and back to their table, though the trip was slow and painful. He hadn't been this aroused in months and the longer he was with Bella the more things frustrated him.

He wanted her in the worst way. But this time it was more than physical. He wanted every single part of Bella in his life and if that meant waiting until the time was right and she was ready to move things forward, then that's what he would do.

* * *

Bella stumbled through the door of Edward's suite around 2 the next morning. Her legs were killing her. After her first dance with Edward, she'd spent most of the night dancing with Emmett and Jacob, in between her slow dances with him. They both figures slow was the safe way to go for them for right now and that included not dancing to music that would put them in the situation that had gotten them so worked up in the first place.

He laughed as she fell back on the couch and moaned.

"God it feels so good to be horizontal…"

"There's a better place to be horizontal than on the couch," Edward smirked, knowing full well she wasn't going to cave so early in the relationship. They'd barely gotten past kissing and some extremely heavy petting so far, although they nearly blew that out of the water with their first dance of the evening.

It was absolute torture for him and after every date he'd spent at least half an hour with his hand.

Bella narrowed her eyes at him and shook her finger. "You're a bad boy, mister," she sighed, before letting her eyes drift close. She was by no means drunk. She'd had only one drink after 'the dance' then mostly water after that. She was just completely worn out from a long day.

"Well can you at least come to bed? I don't want you sleeping on the couch."

She sat up, nodding as she pulled her shoes off and dropped them unceremoniously in the floor in front of the coach. "Crap, my stuff's at Jacob's."

"It's alright love, I've got something you can sleep in," he replied, fighting back a yawn that eventually won the battle. "Damn I'm sleepy." He then shuffled back to the bedroom to dig out something for her to wear and got ready for bed.

Bella stood and stretched her arms over her head, hearing her bones crack as she did so. She felt extremely old right then.

Following Edward's path to the back to the bedroom, she came to an abrupt halt as she watched him pull his shirt over his head and drop it to the floor, quickly followed by his jeans. He turned towards her and she quickly looked at the floor.

"You know you can stare at my sexy body all you want," he said, his voice sounding entirely too effeminate for her liking as he ran his hand down his chest and stomach to brush lightly over the area at the juncture of his thighs that was drawing a lot of attention at the moment.

He was hard. Very hard and the boxers he wore did absolutely nothing to hide the issue, more so emphasizing it.

"Uh huh, talk like that again and I'm finding you a boyfriend," she joked back, trying to lighten the obvious sexual tension that stood like an elephant in the room.

She turned her back to him as she pulled her shirt over her head and took off her bra before pulling a large, loose fitting t-shirt over her head that fell to mid thigh.

After pushing her jeans down her legs, she pulled back the comforter on the bed and apprehensively slid in between the sheets.

Edward switched off the light and got in on the other side of the bed, quickly reaching out to pull her against him, making sure to press his hardness against the curve of her ass as he spooned her.

"Um, Edward," she murmured nervously.

"Just ignore it baby. It'll eventually go away," he replied, kissing the curve of her neck. "Night."

"Night."


	13. Chapter 12

___****__AN: Good morning everyone! I would like to thank everyone for their reviews and though I've taken every you've all said into consideration Edward and Bella aren't gettin' any just yet. But that doesn't mean they can't enjoy each other a little does it? And I have to agree with all of you. Ignoring it, does not make it go away. At least not in any case I've ever been involved in :D I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, Jake's going to start getting on your nerves soon enough because I've made him entirely too likeable in most of my other stories, time for me to show you guys how I really feel about him._

**_As for current suggestions on what to read, since some of you asked, I honestly have nothing at this specific moment in time because I'm still reading The Red Line. I had about twenty updates I had to read for other stories over the past few days in addition to working on my updates and finish Glass Houses (Morganville) before I go out of town this weekend. But I'll go ahead and suggest one I read a few weeks ago which was just updated today actually, If It's The Beaches by Emibella but be warned there is gratuitous Emmett/Bella. Don't say you weren't warned._**

**_And I DO STILL WANT DOUCHEWARD SUGGESTIONS! Thank you to Opal2084 for the ones she sent me yesterday. I haven't gotten to check them out yet but I certainly will as soon as I get a minute to breathe I promise. But please keep them coming. You guys have sent me some awesome stories. _**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

__

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**_

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Bella opened her eyes, trying to focus on the bright red numbers of the clock in the darkness. She'd only been asleep an hour but her mind had been plagued with erotic images she wasn't yet ready to entertain.

Edward's erection still prodded her ass as he snored quietly in her ear and as much as she refused to admit it, there was a wet heat between her legs and every single nerve ending in her body was on alert.

She'd been so long without sex she couldn't even knowingly sleep in the bed with a man without wanting him. Or maybe it was just Edward.

Pulling out of his grasp just enough to lie on her back, she watched him sleep smiling at how innocent he looked as he did so.

He tossed his arm out, casually resting it across her stomach just below the hem of her shirt startling her as the electricity of his skin on hers jolted through her.

She closed her eyes tightly doing her best to block out the amazingly sexy man that lay next to her and clenched her jaw tightly shut.

_Just go to sleep. Go to sleep. _She told herself over and over before finally relenting to slide her hand down between her legs, making sure not to brush over Edward's hand or make any sudden bold movements that could possibly wake him up.

Watching his face closely in the soft glow of moonlight that seeped through the blinds, she gently brushed her fingers over the moist heat between her legs. She chewed at her bottom lip as she kept her eyes on him to make sure she didn't wake him.

His hardness continued pressing against her and she closed her eyes momentarily as a shiver rushed through her as she imagined him over her, thrusting inside of her.

"Mmm…"

Her eyes flew open when she realized that her moan hadn't been in her head and she quickly looked over at Edward.

He gazed at her through lazy eyes, a tired smirk pulling at his lips as he placed his hand on her arm and followed it down to rest between her legs.

"Edward…" she whispered in embarrassment, trying to pull his hand away from her. "I'm not re…"

"Shh…" he whispered in reply, leaning over to press a soft sensual kiss to her lips. "Just relax."

He pushed the blankets down her body and pushed the shirt she wore up over her breasts. Gently kissing the valley before him, he then took her breasts in his hands, kneading them as he flicked his tongue over the hardening nub of her nipple. Suckling and nipping the first into full arousal before offering the other the same treatment.

Bella threaded her fingers through his messy hair, holding him to her chest as he showered her with affection and began kissing his way down her stomach until he lay on his stomach between her legs.

Edward eased her legs further apart, kissing the inside of her thighs, trailing his way towards her center. He hooked his fingers in the waist of panties and tugged them down her long creamy legs.

"God you're beautiful… my Bella," he said softly, causing her to shudder as his warm breath brushed against her aroused center.

Edward swept his tongue over her clit, inhaling her heady scent as he began his slow torturous attack on her most sensitive area.

She pushed her hips towards him, a sigh of satisfaction escaping as he hooked his arms around her thighs and drove his tongue inside of her alternating with sucking lightly on the tightened bundle of nerves at her center.

"Oh God," she moaned again burying her hands in his hair holding him close against her as he assaulted her senses with each thrust of his tongue, each brush of his hand.

Her release grew closer and closer before she felt her body explode.

Edward drank her in, continuing his attack even after she fell back, sated and content. Her body bucked against him as he scattered kisses once again along the inside of her thighs causing her to giggle, the extra sensitive nerves in her body making her ticklish.

"Stop," she laughed, pulling him up her body.

"That do the job?" he asked, brushing his lips against hers as he casually ground his cock against her.

Bella felt her face grow hot. "That definitely did the job."

"Good."

He then planted a firm kiss on her lips and rolled over to lie next to her. "Night my Bella."

"Edward? You're still worked up…"

"Its fine, I'm not going to make you do anything you're not ready for."

"But, you just…"

Edward wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "I did exactly what I've been thinking about doing for weeks. This is just the first opportunity I had to get away with it. I want nothing it return. It was all about you."

She smiled at him, thankful that he wasn't going to force her into going any further right then.

She was by no means a virgin but sex wasn't the issue. She'd never been all that great orally satisfying a man. Or so she thought and the idea that she'd disappoint him scared her to death right then. Maybe when she got back home she could buy a toy to practice on or something.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?"

"You alright?

"Yeah. Night."

"Night love."

* * *

Jacob sat in the resort's atrium drinking a cup of Amaretto coffee he'd picked up at the on-site coffee shop and reading the newspaper as he waited for the rest of the world to wake up.

Even after a late night out, he'd gotten up with the sun only to stare at the open door of the empty bedroom where Bella was supposed to have slept last night although he knew once she was with Edward the odds of that actually happening were minimal.

He took a sip of coffee and glared upwards at the ceiling as though he could make out the overly lavish atrocity that was Edward's penthouse suite waiting for Bella to make her way back and start the day, he just dreaded seeing a huge smile on her face.

He may have wanted her to be happy but a part of him knew that Edward wasn't the one to do that and even though he knew they were together, the thought of them sleeping together literally made him ill.

"What crawled up your ass?" Tyler Crowley, another account executive for Volturi asked as he slowed and approached co-worker.

Jacob frowned. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Because you look like someone kicked your dog. What's the problem?"

"Nothing," he sighed. "I'm just waiting for Bella to resurface. We've got a meeting with Aro and some of the board members this morning. And she didn't come back to the suite last night so…"

"Bella? Oh that's the new girl doing graphics for your team?"

"Yeah."

"She's staying with you?" Tyler asked quirking an eyebrow, mildly curious. He had yet to meet the girl that was hired a month and half earlier, having not been at the office much. "What does Aro think about that?"

"For your information, Aro booked the suite. He's actually encouraging me. The bad part is she's dating Cullen."

"Ah, don't need to hear any more. I know what that look is for now." Tyler chuckled and waved at the other man starting to leave as Bella approached wearing the clothes she'd worn the night before with the exception of an oversized sweatshirt that obviously belonged to Edward.

"Morning," she smiled lazily at Tyler before walking past him towards Jacob.

Tyler just smiled and shook his head before walking away.

"Can I borrow your room key? I guess I left mine when we went out last night. I certainly wouldn't intentionally be down here in what I wore last night if that wasn't the case, trust me."

"Sure. I'll go with you," he replied, forcing a smile as they stepped onto the elevator.

As soon as he opened the door to the suite she headed straight for her room and a moment later he heard the shower come on. A quick glance at the clock told him they had a little over an hour before they needed to be at the small conference room that Volturi had booked so he walked into her room and knocked sharply on the bathroom door. "Bells, you hungry?"

"What!?"

He cracked the door slightly, just enough to lean his head though. "Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?" he called out, quickly diverting his gaze from the mirror after seeing her naked form behind the clear shower curtain.

"Yeah. Anything's fine. I'll be out in a minute."

Closing the door, he went back to the living room, surprised to find his hands shaking as he reached for the phone to order them some omelets and orange juice.

Ten minutes later, she stepped out of the bedroom refreshed and smiling. "Morning," she sang, resting her chin on his shoulder as he held the door open for the porter to wheel in a cart of food. "God that smells good, I'm starving."

"I hope you don't mind omelets, I decided to make it easy and ordered each of us one with some orange juice? Go ahead and have a seat at the table." he asked as calmly as he could trying to get her away from him as her body burned into his back.

"An omelet sounds perfect," she sighed happily and did as he asked.

She sat quietly as she watched him take his time with the things on the tray though seemingly ignoring her at the same time. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, why do you ask?"

Giving a short shrug in response, she yawned again. "You just seem kind of off this morning."

"I didn't sleep that well, nothing more," he replied placing an omelet in front of her then sat across from her.

They ate in silence for a few moments before Jacob decided to pry a little. "So did you have fun last night?"

"Yeah. I'm not used to being out that late or going out dancing for that matter but it was fun. You and Emmett are fun to dance with," she laughed, thinking back to the seizure like moves he'd been using the night before as well as Emmett acting like he was Vanilla Ice on occasion.

Jacob chuckled. "Should've used me for the slow ones, I'm a little more coordinated then."

"Well you didn't look that much like Elaine Benes so I think you'll be okay." She gave him a small smile and finished her omelet then walked back towards the foyer to place her empty dishes back on the tray. "What time is our meeting with Aro?"

"Fifteen minutes. We should get going I guess. Make sure you've got your credentials with you."

"Huh?"

"Remember the ID stuff I gave you when we got here yesterday? You're supposed to wear it around your neck at all times when we're doing anything involving the conference. Everyone wears them. It's got your company info, job title all of that on it. Helps them keep track of who is and isn't supposed to be here. You'd be surprised how many people want to save some advertising dollars and sneak in to get ideas for themselves instead of going through an agency. It never works out well."

"Oh!" She hurried back to the bedroom and dug through her purse to pull them out and put them around her neck then rushed back to follow Jacob out.

He slung his arm around her shoulders as they walked down the hall towards the elevator. "So things are going good with Edward?"

She looked up at him thoughtfully. "Yes. Considering no one wants them to," she replied, giving him a stern look.

"Hey, don't do that. I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you to get hurt."

Bella stopped short and pulled away from him. "How do you know you wouldn't hurt me Jake? I know you're just waiting until Edward screws up so you can move in and take his place."

"Bella…"

"No, listen. I'm happy with him. He's been nothing but a perfect gentleman to me, he's put me first and I'm enjoying that. He's not pressuring me into anything I don't want to do and despite all of the crap coming out of your mouth and Emmett's, I trust him. And I will until he gives me a reason to think otherwise."

"Okay," he mumbled and held his hands up, palms outward in surrender.

"And I appreciate you trying to look out for me I really do but don't just lurk around waiting for this to end. You're my friend, Jacob and that's all I want out of you. I'm sorry if that's a problem but we don't always get what we want because if we did, my parents would be happily married to each other and I'd be happily married to a wonderful with two kids, a dog, a cat and huge house in the country. Now, either be my friend and support me in this or we'll keep this relationship strictly business. Got it?"

"Yeah…" he said quietly, mentally scolding himself as she turned on her heel and stalked away.


	14. Chapter 13

___****__AN: Sorry guys! It's been another extremely busy morning for me so that's why you're getting a late update again. I'm super super sorry about that but you get a fairly long chapter by my standards today so be happy. I've decided that I'm going to update White Flag tonight before I go to bed that way you'll at least get your chapter of it this week. There will be no more updates until Monday. While I do have a laptop now, I don't exactly have a laptop connect wireless thingy yet so even though I'll be able to work on some stories a very little bit while I'm out of town at this conference, I won't be able to post anything but I will be able to get you reviews through my wonderful Blackberry so please review for me! _

**_Sorry if there are any typos or anything, I'm lacking a bit of proofing time._**

**_Now for my story pimpage of the day: On Thin Ice by eatsleepskate it's amazing and frustrating all at the same time so if you aren't reading it GO! NOW! Just as soon as you finish reading this update!_**

**_Please keep those Doucheward, Dickward, whatever you want to call him suggestions coming. You guys rock! _**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**_

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Bella scratched her head and stared blankly at the items on the table in front of her before glancing over at Jacob. She felt like a bitch for going off on him but he'd made her angry and she wasn't just going to let him continue with his ridicule of her relationship with Edward. Emmett either.

He'd get an earful the next time something came out of his mouth as well.

"Bella?"

"Yes?" she asked quickly, straightening in her chair to look at something Aro was pointing out to her.

An hour later the meeting adjourned and she laid her head down on the table with a groan. She felt like shit. Between staying up late, the cigarette smoke from the club that was still lodged in her nostrils and the conversation with Jacob, she was working on the world's worst migraine.

"Are you okay?" Aro asked as he made his way out of the room.

She slowly nodded her head. "Just a migraine. My medicine's back at the suite but that means I have to walk through bright lights to get to it."

"Would you like me to go get it?"

Shaking her head, she did her best to smile. "Give me a few minutes then I'll scrounge up a hat or some glasses. I need to lie down for a little while."

He smiled and gave her a slow nod. "Alright. Let me or Jacob know if you need anything."

"Thanks."

She sat there for ten more minutes then rummaged around in her bag until she found a forgotten pair of sunglasses. Wishing she had a hat to block the additional light that would come in from the top of her glasses, she rested her hand across her brow and stepped out into the atrium that let in an enormous amount of the early afternoon sun and weaved her way through the throngs of people that stood around with nothing do.

She was going to miss the beginning of the conference but there was nothing she could do about that, she felt absolutely horrible.

Once she made it back to the suite she threw the glasses on the aside and went to sit on the couch, grabbing her purse off of the coffee table as she pulled it into her lap, rummaging through the mess within for her pills. Quickly downing the small pill, she got up and wandered blindly into the bedroom and lay back onto the bed, pulling one of the pillows over her face to block out the light falling asleep within minutes.

* * *

Jacob walked into the suite ready to lie down and relax for a little while only to find Bella passed out on his bed.

With a groan, he kindly removed her shoes then grabbed a pillow off of the bed then walked back out to the living room and lay down on the couch. As soon as he got comfortable the knocking began. "Come in," he called as he looked up to see Emmett and Edward walk in. "Hey guys."

"Hey," they said in unison as Edward looked around curiously.

"You really should talk to housekeeping they just let anyway into your room," Emmett joked flopping down on the couch opposite Jacob.

"She's in my bedroom sleeping," Jacob yawned, receiving an odd look from both of the other men. "What? Do you see me sleeping in there with her?"

Edward scratched his head and walked towards the door that Jacob pointed to, opening it to find her fully clothed lying diagonally across the bed with a pillow thrown haphazardly across her face.

He just chuckled and walked back to join the others. "She sleeps in odd positions doesn't she?"

Jacob just shrugged. "Aro said she was complaining of a migraine. I guess her medicine knocked her out. Did you guys drop by for anything in particular?"

"Just to see Bella but I guess that can wait. Tell her to call me when she gets up."

Jacob watched as the men left and bit back his jealousy of the situation. He really did need to let it go but it wasn't that easy.

Forty-five minutes later, after tossing around uncomfortably on the couch, he got up and went back to his room. He was going to take a nap in his bed. He'd just move her over to one side of the bed and lay on the other. It was nothing they hadn't done before.

He carefully lifted her and gently moved her over before lying next to her and turning towards away from her. With a drawn out yawn, he closed his eyes and finally let sleep overtake him.

* * *

"Mmmm…" Bella sighed, stretching her arms over her head before snuggling into the warm body next to her. She slid her arm around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder as she gently rubbed her hand over his stomach.

Jacob woke to the soft stroke of her hand beneath his shirt and immediately his eyes shot open. His body was responding quickly to her touch and the last thing he wanted was for her to freak out when she realized it was him. Or have Edward walk in and kick his ass.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?"

"Bells? Sweetie, let me up," Jacob said softly, gently nudging her until she slowly began to open her eyes.

"Jacob?" she frowned, quickly sitting up and scooting away from him. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled and got out of the bed. "You're in my bed, Bells. I've got a right to be here."

"Oh," she said quietly. "Sorry. I guess I got the rooms confused with not opening my eyes to get where I was going and all. My medicine knocked me out."

"Don't worry about it. Um, Edward came by to see you earlier. He said to call him."

She nodded and slowly got out of the bed. "Alright. Um. I'll go find him and see you later."

Jacob watched her walk out of the room and fell back onto the bed in frustration. His body was absolutely buzzing and it had everything to do with her.

* * *

Bella crossed her arms over her chest, holding her clipboard against her as she looked around the garage. She was bored. Very bored.

After five days at the conference with pretty much nothing to do but follow Jacob around and look at various exhibits, sit through boring meetings and watch a bunch of grown men play video games, she was going insane and desperately needed some time away from them. Well except for Edward.

She'd continued to stay on his suite. After the incident with Jacob, it'd taken her a few days to look him in the eye without being completely embarrassed about what she'd done. Sure, she'd been pretty much asleep at the time but it still made her uncomfortable. Especially taking into consideration the way her body had begun to react to the situation.

Being a logical person, she deduced it to the fact that she'd been asleep, thinking it was Edward that she'd snuggled up to and her subconscious didn't really grasp the fact that it was Jacob.

And that's what she would keep telling herself whenever it came to mind.

"Are you paying any kind of attention or are you just bored out of your mind?" Jacob asked as he nudged her with his shoulder to bring her out of her daze.

She rolled her eyes in response. "I want to get away from you guys for awhile. I mean I can only get so many ideas from standing around a conference and looking at other peoples work for a week. I need to get out with the consumer and see what's going on there. See how they react to what "we're selling" so to speak."

"Why don't you go out to the promenade? A lot of the shops there use our advertising or one of our competitors. It would give you some ideas. Or you can take some of the samples that we've collected and ask peoples opinion on how the ad effects their perception of the product."

Bella sighed and nodded. "Sounds great, how do you expect me to get there? That's a long walk from where we are and I'm too lazy to walk that far. Plus I probably need to go change first."

She glanced down at her well fitting khaki pants and her pale yellow polo with the Volturi logo on the right breast.

"There's nothing wrong with what you have on."

"I don't want people knowing I'm working with you guys. I might get mauled if you put out a seriously horrible ad," she smiled.

"Well hurry up and change, leave your id badge and everything here, stick your license and a business card in your back pocket in case you need it. I'll see if I can find someone to drive you out there."

She nodded and turned around to find Edward a few feet away from her. "Hey," she smiled, wanting to greet him properly but knowing that wouldn't be the thing to do. There were eyes everywhere down here, especially when it came to Edward and the last thing she wanted was to be front page news if a kiss was shared and not to mention on the bad side of a very large group of women pissed off by the exchange. He had certainly had his share of propositions since arriving at the resort.

"Hey, love," Edward smiled, slinging his arm around her shoulder, knowing that would be the most he could touch her at this time. "What's up?"

Bella shrugged. "Just waiting while Jacob finds someone to take me down to the promenade to do some research and exploration."

"Go with Emmett."

"Huh?"

He nodded towards Emmett, who was leaning against the wall near the main entrance of the resort in a pair of jeans and a polo talking to Rosalie. "Emmett's got a meeting with a prospective client in half an hour at the promenade and Rose is going shopping. You can ride out there with them and look around while they're doing their thing. Just make sure you know when they're coming back so you don't get stuck out there."

"Is that okay for me to do?"

"Why wouldn't it be? It'll save someone else a trip from having to take you out there since he's already going."

"Well if it's okay with Rose…"

Edward motioned Emmett and Rose over as she went to hunt down Jake and tell him she'd be going with Emmett.

He nodded and watched her walk away then caught a warning glance from Edward as he slowly turned his gaze back to Tyler. "God, this sucks…" he muttered under his breath before disappearing into one of the conference rooms for a meeting with Aro.

* * *

"Hold on Bells! Rose here likes to drive really fast and if you aren't holding on you will get hurt," Emmett joked over his shoulder as the still intimidating blonde driving what could only be referred to as red convertible by Bella, swerved erratically as she sped through the tunnel leading out of the parking facility and onto the main strip.

Bella nodded slowly and tried to angle herself so that she was facing forward as well as holding on good enough not to be thrown out and die should Rosalie make an unpredictable turn. She wasn't good when it came to riding in the backseat, she had a horrible problem with car sickness and the speed and jerkiness that Rose was driving with was making her extremely ill. Thanks to a lifetime of bad equilibrium, she'd not only managed to rack up a good deal of bruises and broken bones but she'd also missed out on the fun of riding roller coasters or whatever fun things kids could come up with while growing up without getting violently ill.

"How long is your meeting, Emmett?"

He shrugged. "It'll probably be about an hour and a half. But if things go well it may take a bit longer. I'll call you when I'm done."

She nodded as they arrived at their destination and slowly wobbled out of the car as Emmett turned to help her. There were quite a few people meandering through the shops, many of them women and more than a few stopped whatever they were doing and smiled at Emmett. This didn't go unnoticed by Rosalie who quickly took up her spot at his side and slid her arm through his.

Bella had never met anyone woman in her life more confident than Rosalie Hale but her actions showed her insecurity, however slight, in her relationship with Emmett and she actually felt sorry for her.

She'd be lying if she said that Emmett wasn't an attractive man because he was. His physique alone demanded attention, his personality and smile could easily compete with Hollywood's biggest celebrities. But alas, he was no Edward Cullen and therefore was nothing more than a brother type figure in her life, which made her try that much harder for Rosalie's approval. Over the last few days with the help of Alice, she's managed to start chipping away at Rose's tough exterior but she still had a long road ahead of her.

She followed behind the couple as they weaved their way through the people milling around and stopped abruptly when they did in front of a small boutique.

"Have you got your phone?" Emmett asked her

Bella nodded and pulled up her shirt a little to reveal the cell phone in the case strapped to her bell. "Don't leave home without it."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Alright , I'll page you when we're leaving."

She nodded and walked away, nearly tripping over Jasper as he came around a corner with an arm full of bags and Alice scurrying along behind him. "Jasper? Alice? Hey… what are you guys doing here?"

He smiled and hugged her stepping out of the way just in time for Alice to literally throw herself into Bella's arms. "It's a shopping center Bells, I'm married to an addict," he chuckled. "What do you think we're doing here? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm doing a little bit of public response feedback. Emmett had a meeting with someone so I rode over with him and Rosalie."

"Rose is here!!" Alice started bouncing up and down, obviously excited about someone else to shop with besides her husband. "See you baby!" She kissed him quickly and darted off in some random direction as she pulled her phone out of her purse.

Jasper chuckled. "Want some company? Now that I don't have to be my wife's pack mule I appear to be free for a while. Just let me put these bags in the car."

She offered him a thankful smile and followed him. "I appreciate this, I still don't have much of an idea what I'm doing so a little research can only help."

Jasper chuckled. "Not a problem."

With a shrug he threw an arm around her shoulders and led her through the crowd. A few stopped people would stop Jasper every now and then, recognizing him from some pictures of him that were included in an article on Edward. They even asked him for autographs and pictures. Bella found this hilarious because he was probably the most introverted of all of the people she'd met so far in Edward's group of friends. At one point during their walk a woman had flat out demanded that Jasper give her Edward's number to which he quickly rattled off a number and walked away.

"Jasper!? What are you doin? Who's number was that?"

He chuckled. "Mike Newton. He'll appreciate the attention."

"You're horrible. Although I have to agree with you whole-heartedly on the attention.."

"Yup!"

They stopped at nearly every store to look at adverts and end-caps except for a few that he'd pushed her straight past and eventually wound up back at where she'd left Emmett just as he was walking out with a huge smile on his face.

Half an hour later after tracking down Rosalie and Alice, they pulled up at the resort and said their goodbyes.

She made her way to Jacob's to drop off her work stuff then made her way to Edward's.

Opening the door she found it dark inside, she figured he'd be back by then but upon taking in the schedule on the refrigerator she noted he had a luncheon and something involving the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Sighing, she pulled her phone case free from her belt and cleaned out the pockets of her pants and started towards the bedroom. She was beginning to feel selfish. She wanted some alone time with Edward. She knew he had work to do and judging by the huge number of people that had approached Jasper because of him he obviously had a large number of people to keep happy, something that went along with being who he was. It was just something she was going to have to accept if she wanted to be with him.

She opened the door and came to a stop when she noticed a large white box on the bed. With a frown she approached and noticed an envelope with her name sitting on top of it.

A smile pulled at her lips and she opened the note.

_My Bella,_

_I know we haven't had much us time this week and next week will probably be even worse so consider tonight Valentine's. Be ready to go at 6. I hope you like the dress. I thought of you the moment I saw it._

_Edward_


	15. Chapter 14

__

___****__AN: Hi everyone! I'm finally home and ou have no clue how happy I am about that. It sucks working through your weekend as well as being busy with work related things at night only to have to be there first thing Monday morning. It's like two weeks straight of work and it bites, although I wasn't here first thing, I had to go give a billion tubes of blood to the dr to find out why I'm not getting pregnant. How lovely. I'm sure it's because I keep making Alice miscarry in my stories. And can I just tell you how much it sucks to be staying at a hotel that's surrounded by police and secret service for three days straight. Not fun, pain in the ass as a matter of fact. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, House Majority Leader, former Gov. Don Seigelman and Chris Matthews were staying at the hotel and Merle Haggard came in yesterday. Not a happy time for me. _

**Anywho... here's the chapter I'm sure you've all been waiting for... the Valentine's Date. Hopefully there's nothing misspelled or names that don't belong, I haven't had a chance to proof it but I'll give it a once over. Enjoy!**

**_Please keep those Doucheward, Dickward, whatever you want to call him suggestions coming. You guys rock! _**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!**_

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Bella chewed at her lip as she carefully pulled at the tape and pulled the lid from the box.

Her eyes widened as she pulled out a brightly colored dress, full of pinks and pales greens. There was a silk lining to the body of the dress and two layers of chiffon with a jeweled empire waist and spaghetti straps.

Holding it out in front of her she let her eyes run over the gorgeous fabric down to the layered handkerchief hem and finally smiled. It was perfect.

Hanging the dress on the back of the door she turned back to the box to find a sheer pink shawl and a pair of light pink rose heels.

She hurried through her shower and after fighting with her hair for a good twenty minutes decided to put it in a messy updo. Quickly applying just the barest hint of makeup she slipped the dress over her head and stepped into her shoes as the clock hit 6 and Edward stepped through the door.

"Bells? Baby are you ready?" He called, unable to contain the nervousness in his stomach.

"Be right out," she answered then turned to the mirror for final appraisal.

Edward had never seen her in anything but the casual clothes she wore to work and jeans. Well yeah their first date but still that dress was mediocre compared to this one and it made her nervous.

Taking a deep breath she grabbed the door and pulled it towards her, stepping out slowly as her eyes fell on him. "Wow," she murmured, seeing him in a black suit tailored perfectly to his body with a white shirt and skinny black tie to match. It was one of those skinny looking suits that the Rat Pack had made famous fifty years ago and he looked amazing. "You clean up nice," she giggled.

Edward didn't speak. He just let his eyes roam over her body repeatedly. She looked absolutely breathtaking and for the life of him, he couldn't find the words to truly encompass what he thought.

"Edward?"

"Hmmm…"

She smiled and stepped towards him, spinning slowly so that he could get the full view. "What do you think?"

"I think I'm in love and you've got the most amazing body I've ever seen."

"Um, Edward," she quipped. "You still haven't seen my body, at least not all of it at once."

"Yeah, I'm working on that. Give me time," he joked, tugging at his collar. "Well let's get going."

She nodded and a frown pulled at her lips as she started to pass him, only to have him slip his arm around her waist and pull her against him for a long, gentle kiss. "You look gorgeous."

"You do too…"

* * *

Bella tried not to chew on her fingernail as Edward's plane touched down. She had absolutely no clue where she was but they'd flown over a lot of water and she'd never been so scared in her life.

Edward helped her out after prying her hand off of the arm rest and they immediately climbed into the limo that was waiting for them.

"Edward where are we?" she asked as she took in their surroundings. The weather was much warmer than it had been when they'd gotten on the plane in Santa Barbar and taking into account the large palms that lined the road and the smell of ocean she'd wager they were somewhere in the Pacific she just didn't know where.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled to a stop in front of a pyramid shaped building.

The driver opened the door and Edward helped her out of the car, resting his hand on the small of her back as they approached the door. "What is this place?"

He just smiled and opened the door for her to see a small woman waiting for them. "Good evening Mr. Cullen, we've been expecting you."

Bella cocked her eyebrow and followed the lady that led them to a secluded corner and a small table that looked out onto the beach. She placed their menus in front of them and walked away.

"The Stoned Crab?" Bella chuckled finally seeing the name of the restaurant on the menu. "Only you."

Edward just laughed. "I promise you'll like it. I meant to ask if you liked seafood because if you don't, I just wasted a lot of fuel."

"I like crab and lobster so you lucked out."

They ordered their dinner and ate in comfortable silence, every now and then commenting on one dish or another. Then after stretching his wallet and his stomach, he took her hand and led her out to the beach for a walk.

"So are you ever going to tell me where exactly we are? The menu didn't have an address on it. All I know is I've been kidnapped…"

Edward slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him, leaning down to nibble on her lips. "You aren't enjoying yourself?"

"I didn't say that…"

"You didn't like the food?" he asked, lowering his head to nip at her exposed neck.

She shuddered at his touch and shook her head. "No… the food was great."

"Then what's the problem?"

Bella looked up at him, feeling her body melting into his as they stared at each other. "No problem… I just… I just wanted to know so I can thank you properly."

Edward chuckled. "What do you have in mind?"

She shrugged and reached between them, casually brushing her hand over his crotch, immediately feeling his body respond to her. "Oh… just…" she smiled nervously and bit at her bottom lip, then deciding to be bold, slipped her hand behind his head and pulled him down towards her.

Her lips brushed against his ear as she whispered "I want to suck your cock until every ounce of cum you have is in my mouth then I'm going to fuck you until neither of us can walk. I'm going to torture you and ride you until you beg me to let you let go…"

A smile pulled at her lips when she heard him swallow and he immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the building to their waiting car.

"Airport… airport…" he repeated quickly to the driver then turned back to Bella. "How long can you hold out? I don't want our first time to be on a plane…"

Bella shrugged. "I can handle a few hours I think. That gives us more time for foreplay… I should be nice and wet for you by the time we get back."

She chuckled in his ear and slowly grazed the tip of her tongue over his lobe, sucking it into his mouth.

"Oh fuck," he bit out as they pulled to a stop at the airport and he did his best to get the thoughts of what she was doing to his body out of her mind in order to walk to the plane comfortably.

He managed to make it and buckle himself in, thankful that the plane was ready the moment the doors were closed. "Bella?"

"Yeah baby?" she purred, trying her best to focus on the gorgeous man beside her rather than the fact that she'd be flying over a vast body of water when they took off.

"We're in the French Polynesian Islands."

"Okay."

"Are you going to be alright on the way back?" he asked as he took off his seatbelt and tried to resituate once the plane was airborne.

"Oh yeah, I can think of plenty to keep my mind off of things." Her hand slipped into his lap and brushed her hand over him again.

* * *

After what seemed like endless hours of torture and a constant battle with Bella to keep her hands to herself, Edward finally opened the door to his suite and led her inside.

He'd barely managed to close it before her lips were on him, assaulting his mouth with hers as he guided her to back to the bedroom.

Between the door and the bed they'd somehow managed to shed nearly all of their clothes aside from his boxer briefs as well as the pink thong she wore and the heels that were still wrapped seductively around her ankles.

"Lay down," she whispered between ragged breathes as she pulled away from him, pushing him back onto the bed so that his feet were still flat on the floor as she bent forward to untie the straps holding her shoes on.

"No," Edward said quietly. "Leave them on," he smirked, reaching out to pull her towards him as he hooked his fingers in the waist band of her thong. "These on the other hand, are in the way."

Bella chewed at her bottom lip as he pushed the offensive material to the floor and slowly brushed his fingers up the back of her legs as he peppered kisses along the smooth expanse of her stomach.

"Magnificent…" he muttered breathlessly

"Edward," she breathed out, threading her fingers through his hair before lowering her mouth to his, immediately pushing her tongue past the barrier of his lips, kissing him hungrily. "Lay down," she said again, pulling away from him roughly, as if fighting a battle within herself, not quite sure what she wanted to do.

Swallowing loudly, he just nodded his head and lay back on the bed, only to raise his hips up off of the bed as she tugged his underwear down his legs to free the ever present reminder he'd been fighting with for the last few hours.

She smiled up at him as she dropped to her knees in front of him, running her hands up the length of his long lean legs, letting the fine hair tickle her sensitive skin as she did so.

"Bella? Baby, come on you're killing me. I want to be inside you…"

"Nope. As much as I've teased you, you'll come the second you're inside and I want this to last."

Bella ran the tip of her fingernail down the underside of his cock, smirking when it twitched and followed her touch then she eagerly replaced her finger with her tongue gently lathing the sides of his cock before swirling her tongue around the tip and sucking only the head into her mouth.

"Oh fuck…" Edward hissed, his hands immediately dropping to thread through her dark locks. "God tha…"

"Mmm…" she moaned against him as she wrapped her hand around his shaft and lowered her mouth further, taking as much of him as possible into her mouth before raising back up. The tip of her tongue prodded the underside of him as she continued to suckle him, knowing from past experience that had proved to be an extremely sensitive spot. She may not be good at what she was doing but she also knew that at this point Edward wouldn't last long enough to be able to tell how bad she was.

"Holy… fuck… I'm not gonna last long…" he panted, just as she suspected he might.

She continued easing and applying pressure to him as she moved her mouth over him, then feeling his legs began to stiffen she took her free hand and gently cradled his balls in her hand before tugging just barely.

"SHIT!!" he yelled as he shot into her mouth, hitting the back of her throat with such force she nearly gagged before managing to swallow what he offered and milk him for more.

"Oh shit…" he sighed, breathless and spent as she licked him clean, leaving no inch untouched before crawling up the bed to straddle him.

"So…" she smirked only to have him grip her around the waist and flip her onto her back.

"You're an evil little minx."

"What'd I do? I was just helping you out you can't get mad at me for that."

A low growl rose from his throat as he lowered his mouth to nip at her neck. "I wanted to come while I was inside of you."

"You were," she giggled, as he inadvertently tickled her side.

"Not your mouth."

Bella licked her lips and shrugged. "Oh well. I won't do it again." She squirmed away from him and rolled onto her knees to crawl away from towards the head of the bed.

"I didn't say that."

She looked over her shoulder at him and winked as she stretched, pushing her ass in the air while her breasts brushed closely against the sheets. "Are you going do anything with that?"

"Hmm?" Edward muttered in response. His gaze was fixed on her perfectly round derriere and the slick folds at the juncture of her thighs that called to him almost causing him to forget that he wanted this to be slow. He wanted to take the time to explore every single inch of her body as they came together for the first time.

The last thing that he wanted was for this to be some quick fuck but if she kept wiggling her ass at him just like she was doing then all that would fly out the window.

He rose to his knees and leaned back on his heels, gently popping her on the ass. "Hey get over here and lay down."

"Hmph," she pouted, doing as he said. "You're no fun."

"I'm sure," he chuckled as she lay in front of him, spreading her legs wide as she did so, doing her best to accidentally brush against his hardness.

"Didn't take you long," she smiled, licking at her lips.

Shaking his head, Edward crawled towards her, making her lay back as he settled himself between her legs.

"Got a condom buddy?"

He motioned towards the nightstand with his eyes and hovered over her as she rolled to the side to retrieve one from the drawer, giving him the opportunity to lean down and nip at her exposed body.

"Ow! You bit my ass…" she squealed, half laughing in disbelief that he'd do such a thing.

"Oops…"

With a roll of her eyes she ripped open the package and rolled it onto his cock, then she reached up and pulled his face down towards hers, immediately latching her mouth onto his, coaxing his tongue to duel with hers.

He eagerly obliged as his fingers grazed over the softness of her breast down the lean expanse of her stomach to dip into the slick passage between her legs. "Are you ready for me baby?" he murmured, his voice rough with desire.

She replied with only a nod and then lay back on the bed, watching the intensity on his face through heavy lids as he easily slid inside of her slick heat.

"Oh sweet fuck…" he hissed as her body immediately tightened around him. "God you're so fucking tight baby."

Bella arched against him as he braced his arms to look down at her as he thrust into her again and again, going deeper with each thrust until he was buried fully in her wet heat.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she pulled him against her, wanting to feel the friction of his body against hers. The fine dusting of hair across his chest brushed erotically against her hardened nipples while his mouth attacked her throat and shoulders with fervor, no doubt marking her as his with each touch.

"Jesus Christ, Edward… Please, fuck me harder, you're making me crazy," she moaned after trying to speed up the pace for the final time.

"Uh-uh. We're not rushing through this. I want you to remember every single minute of it."

Receiving a glare of irritation, he hastily kissed the tip of her nose and continued his slow torturous attack on her body.

"That's it, I was being nice…" she bit out as she again tightened her legs on his waist, only this time, the heels of her shoes dug just enough into his ass to speed him up.

"Fuck!" he yelped out deciding no matter how hard he tried, she wasn't going to be nice about this. She wanted to be fucked and he was going to give her exactly what she wanted.

He pulled out of her embrace and unwrapped her legs from his waist only to settle them against his shoulders before he began to pound into her.

There was nothing more arousing to him than the look of unadulterated rapture on her face as he did so. Her eyes closed and her breasts bounced brilliantly with each thrust. Her hands dug into the sheets, as he felt her body nearing its release.

Bella felt the circulation going in her hands from the tight grip she had on the bed as her blood rushed to the center of her body and she felt her body tighten around his as it blissfully let go and her body contracted around him.

"FUCKING HELL…." Edward growled out as her body tugged at his, urging his orgasm forward before spilling forth inside of her. "Holy…" he panted, releasing his hold on her legs as they fell on either side of him and he collapsed in an exhausted heat on top of her. "Son of a bitch."

She giggled as he pulled out of her, quickly removing the condom and tossing it into the garbage can before pulling her into his arms. "Is that good or bad?"

"I'm too old for that shit."

"Everything seemed to working just fine to me," Bella laughed. "Or did you have a little blue pill with dinner."

He rolled towards her and threw his leg over her, pinning her to the bed. "I didn't realize you were such a smart ass. And what was with the heel in my ass!?"

She gave him an innocent smile. "What can I say? You bring out the vixen in me… And it was your idea to leave the shoes on."

"I'll be sure to rethink that next time. No matter how sexy they look," he laughed then slowly frowned when he saw the serious look on her face. "What's wrong?"

Bella shook her head. "Nothing. That was perfect."

"Well you wouldn't let me go sl…"

"I got just what I wanted. I haven't had sex in almost a year Edward. We can do slow and romantic next time."

He nodded and leaned down giving her a gentle, coaxing kiss. "Night love."

"Night Edward."


	16. Chapter 15

_****_

___****__AN: Hiya people! Before you read this I would just like to announce that upon rereading and proofing this chapter, I don't like it. Unfortunately I just dont have the time to rewrite it so hopefully it's not too terribly bad. I don't really have much to say this morning except that daylight savings time is kicking my ass. _

**_Please keep those Doucheward, Dickward, whatever you want to call him suggestions coming. You guys rock! _**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Bella squeezed her eyes closed as tight as she could when the early morning sun began to peak through the blinds in Edward's suite. "Ugh…" she grumbled quietly, cocking open one eye to see what time it was.

She had to get up soon but not quite yet. A few more minutes in bed weren't going to hurt her. But moving might.

Rolling carefully onto her back, every muscle in her body ached from the thorough workout Edward had given her last night. He'd woken her just an hour or so after their first encounter, by easing into her. Then he slowly worked her into a frenzy before she was writhing beneath him begging for release.

The second time had been much slower than the heated sex they'd had when they'd returned from dinner, but was no less satisfying, probably more so. He left no inch of her untouched as he showered her with affection and she'd appreciated every single minute of it.

Although, all she could think about at the moment was something to dull the ache of her sore muscles and the throbbing that continued between her legs. She'd gone such a long time without being intimate with anyone that she knew she'd be feeling it for days.

"Go back to sleep," Edward murmured against her hair as he slipped his arm across her stomach and pulled her against him.

Bella sighed heavily and turned to look at him. "I've got to get up and get a shower. I'm supposed to be at a meeting at 8:30."

"What time is it?"

"Seven. What time do you have to be up?"

He snorted and flopped onto his back. "Whenever I feel like it."

"Ugh, I hate you."

"That's not what you were screaming last night," he chuckled, popping open one eye to watch her response.

She rolled her eyes and sat up, holding the sheet to her chest as she looked around for something to wrap around her to get to the bathroom.

"Shy now? Seems I remember you wearing nothing but heels at one point last night… I think I have a mark on my ass where you spiked me too. It feels bruised."

A blush darkened her cheeks. "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Edward, close your eyes."

With a disappointed huff, he appeased, though not quietly. "This is just wrong."

"You'll get over it," she chuckled as she stepped into the bathroom closing the door firmly behind her.

* * *

"What the hell are you stewing about? That's all you've done since we got here," Tyler yawned as he stumbled up outside of his conference room and saw Jacob shooting death glares in the direction of Edward's friends. "Dude if you want her so much why don't you just tell her?"

"Because I don't and we work together. It won't work."

Tyler eyed the larger man quietly for a moment before speaking again. "Then stop. All you're doing is making an ass out of yourself. Be happy she's a friend and let it go at that. You keep this shit up you won't even have that."

"What the hell are you droning about over there? You don't even know the half of what's going on so just butt the fuck out."

With a shake of his head and a chuckle, his co-worker just wandered into the conference room, but not before noticing Bella walking towards Jacob looking entirely too perky for that early in the morning.

"Morning, Jake," she chirped as she stepped past him into the room to grab a seat at the long rectangular table. She shuffled through the papers in her hand as well as the group that was stacked in front of each of the seats as Jacob came in and sat next to her with a quiet huff. "Are you alright? You seem terribly quiet this morning."

Jacob watched her quietly but after catching sight of faint bruising on her collar bone, just beneath the collar of her polo, he didn't want her around. "I'm not in the mood to talk this morning Bella," he said quietly then closed his mouth.

"If something's bothering you, you know…"

"If something's bothering me?" he laughed bitterly. "Did you really just say that to me?"

Bella flinched at the anger in his words, she'd gotten well beyond the point of putting up with his behavior regarding her relationship with Edward. And she knew that's exactly what he was pissed about. He'd either accept it or they'd be strictly professional acquaintances. She wasn't going to lose her job because of his selfish need to 'protect' her from Edward. If that's the way he was going to continue to act, she didn't need a friend like him. "You know what, never mind."

She stood up and stalked around the table sitting as far away from him as possible but his words stopped her just as she began to take a seat.

"You're just another whore to him…" he called out, not caring who heard it. And plenty of people did, they were far from the only people in the room. The loud gasps of a few of them as well as the appalled looks that were thrown in Jacob's direction even more proof that he'd blurted out something he shouldn't have.

Bella looked around at the people that looked between the two of them. She worked with these people on a daily basis and he'd completely humiliated her with his comment. She shook her head, quickly grabbing her stuff off of the table only to come to a halt when she found more people standing in the doorway of the conference room in shock. She saw Jasper and Emmett but she also saw her boss. Sebastian Aro was standing front and center, the look on his face was one of disappointment, but it wasn't aimed at her. It was meant for Jacob.

She straightened to her full height and held her head high and continued her stride out of the room, offering an apology to Aro for her absence to which he nodded in understanding.

"You're more stupid than I thought," Tyler called across the table.

Jacob just stood up, roughly tossing his chair out of the way as he stomped towards the doors stopping to punch at the conference room wall on his way. "Son of a bitch!" he growled.

"Going somewhere?" Aro asked with repugnance.

"Yeah, out of here," he responded.

His boss crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at him defiantly. "Not if you plan on keeping your job. Sit your ass down."

* * *

Jasper knocked on the door of the small meeting room he'd seen Bella run into, as a warning before opening the door to step inside. He followed the soft sniffles towards the back of the room where he found Bella with her face buried in her hands and half a dozen used tissues scattered on the floor at her feet as she looked out of the window onto the ocean below.

"Are you alright?" he asked, startling her as she jumped a little and hurriedly wiped at her eyes, obviously not wanting to be caught in that condition.

"Yeah," she offered up a weak smiled and shrugged. "Just hurts I guess. I thought he was over this mess with Edward. He completely humiliated me in front of people I work with. How am I ever going to be able to face those people again."

Jasper shrugged, pulling her to a chair before sitting next to her, gently patting her on the back. "Look, I don't know the full extent of what's going on but he had no right to say that to you. And for what it's worth, Edward's a good guy. He's definitely had his wilder days but he's calmed down a lot in the last few years, especially since you got here. Don't think he's just had a long string of women. He hasn't, not recently. You're the first girl I've seen him with in a while. I certainly don't think he's using you."

"Thanks. I appreciate that. It's somewhat comforting."

"Do Emmett and I need to kick Jacob's ass?"

Unable to stop the giggle that escaped she shook her head. "No, I'm just going to have to put a stop to our friendship. It was a mistake. I thought I could be friends with him and work with him but it's not going to work. He won't let it. And I'm not going to lose my job over him. I work too hard for that."

"Then do what you have to do."

"What's going on?" a third voice interrupted and they turned to find Aro standing in the doorway looking on curiously.

Bella quickly gathered the discarded tissue and stood, tossing them in the trashcan before smiling nervously at the man. "Nothing. Jasper was just helping me deal with something. So what's on the agenda for today?"

"For you? Nothing," Aro replied.

"Huh? I thought you…"

He shook his head. "I don't see how you can do much more work around here right now. You've done your research at the promenade with the consumers and you've been to most of the ad/copy meeting. Just take some time to relax before we get back home and get started on the new campaigns. You're really going to have to work your ass off."

"So you're not firing me?"

"No, should I?"

She shook her head. "No. No. Just making sure."

"You did nothing out of line, Bella. Jacob on the other hand crossed many of them but that's something I will have to deal with when we get back as well. I'm sorry that you had to hear that and I'm sorry that he did that to you in front of your co-workers. Why don't you get out of here. Go put on something comfortable and hang out with your man."

She smiled and hurried out of the conference room.

"What the hell's going on Jasper?" Aro asked, waiting for the man to answer his question.

Jasper shrugged. "I don't want to get involved but I will say if Jacob doesn't reign in his temper and his hormones, you're going to lose a good designer."

"She's threatened to quit because of him?"

"No, he called her Edward's whore this morning. Now I'm not one to gossip but he's supposed to be her friend. She's told him that's all she wants from him but he's pulling that over protective shit that he does every so often and it's putting undue strain on her. She's already decided that she can't be friends with him. Her job's important to her. She's not going to let him get in the way of that. But I'm not getting involved. Just don't listen to any shit Jacob feeds you because he's feeling rejected. She did nothing wrong and she's smart for not getting involved with him. However, if I hear that anything that he's done reflects badly on her reputation or career for that matter, I will make sure that she's got a place at Cullen and I'm absolutely positive I won't have any argument from Edward."

* * *

Bella hurried through resort to the elevators and up to the top floor on her way to Edward's. She needed to be held right now more than anything. And she was debating on whether or not she wanted Edward to know what happened.

With the number of people who'd been standing there when Jacob had called her a whore, she knew it would eventually get back around to him so she thought it best to get it out of the way.

As she stepped off of the elevator and turned the corner she came to an abrupt halt as she watched the door to Edward's suite open as a tall woman with long blond hair that reached just past her elbows and a skirt that was nowhere near long enough to cover her ass, stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

Maybe Jacob was right. Maybe she was just another whore.

Bella took a deep, soothing breath and slowly made her way down the hall to Edward's suite, but not before noticing that Jacob was at the other end of the hallway with a cocky smirk on his face. The kind of smirk that said everything but mainly 'I told you so'.

Doing her best not to let him get to her, she stopped outside of the door and swiped her key then opened the door stepping into the living room of the suite.

She felt her stomach began to tighten at the muffled sounds coming from the bedroom and before she lost her nerve completely, she stalked over and threw open the door, prepared for anything except what she found. "Mike!? What the hell?"

Mike scrambled to get his pants zipped up as he tossed the leggy blond off of him and jumped to his feet. "Hey um…"

"What are you doing? That's… You've got your own hotel room Mike. Why the hell aren't you in it?"

He frowned and scratched at his head before looking at the girl that sat on the bed, not bothering to put on her top as she sat there with her breasts hanging for everyone to see. "Put your shirt back on," he hissed before looking back at Bella. "I was horny alright and she wanted the guy staying in the penthouse suite."

"Well that's great but you do realize you're about to fuck on a bed that's already been well and used in the last twelve hours by someone else and that's just disgusting. Now get out, I need to change."

Nodding, he grabbed his ditzy acquaintance by the wrist and pulled her along.

"Where are we going? Why is she kicking you out of your own room?" the blond asked completely confused.

He groaned and muttered in resignation. "This isn't my room."

"Where's Edward?"

Mike shrugged. "He said he was heading over to Emmett's room."

"Okay."

Bella shuddered as he walked out and she looked at the bed. She was definitely going to have to get housekeeping up here to change the sheets ASAP.

After placing a quick call to housekeeping, she pulled on a short sleeve white t-shirt and a well worn pair of jeans that fit her just right then waited for the two women to change the bedding before taking the elevator down to Emmett's.

After a short knock and what she assumed was "come in" but sounded more like a grunt, the door opened for her. "Hey guys."

Edward looked up from his game and smiled, just in time for Emmett to spin him out and send him into the wall. "Jackass," he grumbled pinching Emmett on the elbow before turning back to Bella. "Hey baby, what are you doing here?"

She leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his lips then sat behind him on the sofa. "I've got nothing to do. I'm on a working vacation for the remainder of this conference. And I caught Mike in your suite."

He shrugged as he started a new game and immediately went after Emmett. "He's always dropping by the suite."

"Yeah I know but he's not usually in your bed with some surgically enhanced bimbo. Luckily I interrupted before the both got naked but they were on their way."

Edward quickly paused the game. "Do what?"

"Dude that's sick," Emmett laughed.

"I'm sure he's brought them here too," Bella quipped, cocking an eyebrow in Emmett's direction.

"I'll be back," he replied with a short nod, leaving Bella and Edward as he jumped up and hurried out of the room.

"Don't worry, I called and had the sheets changed comforter and everything. It's all clean now."

Edward tossed the control on the floor and slid up onto the coach then pulled Bella into his lap. "What's wrong, love?" he frowned, finally seeing the redness that rimmed her eyes and the puffiness beneath them.

"Bad morning," she smiled weakly, hoping he'd let it drop. She knew he needed to hear from her what Jacob had said that morning. As loud as he said it, it would eventually get back around to Edward. She needed to be the one that told him.

He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed the tip of her nose. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, but I guess I need to."

"What happened?"

Bella shrugged. "Well, to make a long story short, Jacob said I was just another one of your whores. I'm surprised you didn't hear it, half of the people attending the conference did including everyone we work with and Aro. So I spent a good half hour in one of the meeting rooms crying before Jasper came in and calmed me down."

"Um… okay…" Edward replied nervously.

"He defended you. But I talked to him and Aro and I can't continue trying to be friends with Jacob and work with him. He's just making this harder on me than it should be. I'm doing the right thing by not being in a relationship with him. And you make me happy. I don't feel guilty about us. It feels right."

He nodded. "So is that why you aren't working for the rest of the time you're here? You didn't get fired did you?"

"No. I think Aro felt bad about Jacob's behavior. Anyway, as I was heading back to the room to change I saw that girl that was with Mike walking into your room. I didn't see Mike or anyone else and it scared me. I felt like a fool. Only to walk in and find Mike, which just pissed me off because he got me upset over nothing."

Edward smiled. "Bella, I'm not seeing anyone but you. I don't want to see anyone but you especially after last night. You're damn sexy in nothing but heels."

Bella rolled her eyes in response and tried to pull out of his embrace. "But I'm not allowed to wear them to bed anymore, remember?"

He chuckled in response just as Emmett returned.

"Son of a bitch!" He yelled as he came back into the room only to come to a halt when he saw Bella straddling Edward's lap. "Don't you two get started now. Mike admitted to bringing girls to my suite when I'm busy. I'm having them swap out my keys. I suggest you do the same although I have no clue how he's getting them unless he's sleeping with housekeeping too."

"Good idea," Edward smirked.

"Oh God," Emmett murmured. "What if I've gotten some sort of weird disease because of him doing that?! Ugh! I'll see you guys later. I'm going to the hospital. Maybe they can test me for stuff."

Bella couldn't withhold her laughter as Emmett left. "He's mental."

"You could say that. And since I'm I've had my bedroom sanitized and you have the rest of the day off, do you want to go spend some quality time together? We'll stop by registration and get the keys taken care of just to make sure we aren't interrupted."

She chewed at her lip for a minute. "Can you maybe see if they've got some sanitizing wipes down there as well, I'm paranoid now. There's no telling where else he's had sex in that room."

He chuckled and pushed her from his lap then stood and led her out of the coach. "I think we've got some Clorox clean ups in the bathroom. Will that work?"

"Yup. Did I just kill the mood?"

With a shrug, he pressed his lips to her temple. "Only momentarily, all I have to do is think about you in those heels and I'll be good to go."


	17. Chapter 16

___****__AN: Hello everyone! Hope you guys had a great weekend. Mine would've been better if my husband and I hadn't spent $160 on a radiator only to replace it and find out we needed a water pump which is about $120 cheaper. I'm not happy at all. I still haven't heard back from my doctor on a test thats supposed to take 24 to 48 hours to get results on and my arm looks like I'm in an abusive relationship because of the wonderfully inept lab tech that took my blood. Grr._

**_Anyway... Here's the chapter I promised you guys today. Sorry it took so long to get this updated but my husband was sick, he got me sick, and I didn't actually have time to work on this chapter until yesterday and even then it was a struggle so hopefully you guys like it. _**

**_I also have a few story recommendations for you: _****_Our Lips Are Sealed by toxicbluecrayon (Thanks Opal for the rec.) and Steady, As She Goes by miss-KEP (yet another high school fic). _**

**_Sorry for those of you who don't like high school fics but sometimes it's nice to escape and wish you could go back to high school and get the guy of your dreams. Granted I've been out for almost 15 years (yes I feel old) but you can't help but have those if only moments. Like I was completely in love with this guy from my freshman year, we were friends but nothing more. Come senior prom, I was asked but didn't go because it wasn't 'the guy' and I didn't want to go alone. Come to find out, he went alone and when yearbook time rolled around and he signed mine, he told me he loved me. *sigh* See... if only._**

**_I don't have time for proofing this morning because I'm getting a new printer delivered at work so just be patient. If you find any mistakes, PM me. If it doesn't make sense PM me._**

**_Anywho...keep those Doucheward, Dickward, whatever you want to call him suggestions coming. You guys rock! _**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!_**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

Edward stalked through corridor outside of the conference rooms to find the room reserved for Volturi after he'd made sure that Bella would be busy for a while. She'd agreed to help Emmett completely disinfect his entire suite before doing the same to his. Now, he was going to take the opportunity to set something straight.

Not bothering to knock once he found the open door and the room mainly empty except for a few people including the one person he was looking for, he barged into the room.

"You sorry son of a…" Edward clenched his jaw as he pulled Jacob up by the collar and shoved him against the wall. He hated to call him a son of a bitch because he had all the respect in the world for Jacob's mother but he was extremely pissed at the moment. So pissed in fact, he'd actually had the strength to manhandle Jacob. Something he was sure wouldn't be possible at any other time. "If you speak to Bella ever again when it's not related to work, so help me I will make your life a living hell."

Jacob smirked and looked over Edward's shoulder where Aro and his brother, Felix who was the vice president of Volturi, were sitting, watching with interest. "That's great Edward. Now do you mind? I'm busy."

Edward glanced over his shoulder to see the two men. "Yeah I mind. Stay away from her or I'll make sure she pins your ass for sexual harassment and I'm sure these fine gentlemen here would hate to have that on their plates." He released Jacob then turned. "Aro. Felix."

They watched as he stormed out just as quickly as he'd come in.

"Can you believe the nerve of that asshole?" Jacob chuckled, rolling his eyes in response but quickly quieted when he noticed the Aro boys weren't sharing in the humor. "What?"

"We already talked with Tyler this morning Jacob. We know what you said to Bella. I don't blame Edward one bit for that."

"What?! You should be reporting him to the board for that shit!"

"For what? We didn't see anything?" Felix responded, looking to Aro for any indication that he would play along.

He nodded. "Yes Jacob, report him for what?"

"Aro, I thought you were on my side in this?"

Aro shook his head. "I was on your side to try and get the girl, not to treat her like some random whore, Jacob."

* * *

After retreating to his own suite for a while to calm down, Edward finally made his way back to Emmett's, though upon entering, wished he'd waited a little longer.

"Hey, catch," Emmett called tossing a bag of garbage at Edward from the bedroom, nearly knocking him off balance in the process. "Nice."

"What the hell is all this?"

"Trash, dude we found moldy pizza in the closet. I don't even want to know how long that's been in here, or how it got into the closet. If this is housekeeping's idea of cleaning, I don't even want to know what kind of bacteria and disease is lingering in this hotel.

"Did you get to our room yet?" Edward chuckled and walked into the living room. "Have you been given a clean bill of health?"

Emmett never answered, just tossed a pillow at his head as hard as he could.

"Where's Bella?"

"Naked in the shower, dude that body I swear…" he chuckled.

Edward didn't take the bait, just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Even if that were the case, I think she's learned not to shower when you're around."

"What?! How many times do I have to defend myself on this?"

Bella walked up behind Emmett and ruffled the back of his hair before bypassing him to join Edward on the couch. "Where have you been?"

"The conference center. I had to take care of some stuff," he replied quickly, being sure not to make eye contact with her as he did so. He looked at Emmett, warning him to keep his mouth shut as well. "So, are you guys done cleaning yet? I'd like to get a nap in before my dinner tonight."

Bella shifted so that her legs were beneath her and began to bounce with excitement. "Dinner? What dinner?" she giggled.

Edward smiled at the expression on her face. "It's a charity dinner for Autism Awareness. I thought I told you about it?"

She shook her head and nibbled momentarily on her lip. "No, but that's okay. I'll order take out and get caught up on the boob tube. It's Thursday right? Hmm… Yeah if you need me I'll be cuddled up on the couch with some Sam and Dean Winchester tonight."

Though he'd never admit it out loud, her obvious drooling over some actors was ruffling his feathers a little bit. "No you won't, you're coming to the dinner with me."

"But I don't have anything to wear to a charity function!"

"Do you honestly think that I wouldn't have the perfect dress for you? Really my love?"

A blush colored her cheeks as she thought about the last dress and shoes he'd purchased for her as well as how that night ended. "What time do I need to be ready?"

"Eight."

"I can't wait."

"Are you sure? You could always hang out with Rose and I tonight? Here… in bed… naked…" Emmett winked, putting all his weight on one leg as he ran his hand down his body before blowing a kiss at her.

Edward physically shuddered. "Don't _ever_ do that again. _Ever_. I will fire you for that."

"I was talking to Bella," he defended.

"Still… I'm scarred… seriously scarred by that."

* * *

"Edward this is too much," Bella sighed as she turned her back towards the mirror taking in another angle of the dress that she'd found waiting for her in Edward's suite upon their return.

He chuckled as he stepped up to her to run his hands down her bare arms to link his fingers through hers. "Nothing is too much for you. Anyway, I figured it was just your style, simple, pure, elegant…" he replied, emphasizing every word with a soft brush of his lips against hers.

Bella stepped back and looked up at him with wide eyes. "There is nothing simple about Valentino, Edward. This cost of this dress could probably cover my house payment for three months, not to mention the cost of the shoes!"

She sighed and turned back to the mirror knowing that no matter how much she fussed over what he spent on her, that the dress was absolutely gorgeous and there was no way he was going to take it away from her at this point, even if he wanted to.

He was right. The dress was simple enough. It was white form fitting with no extravagant designs on the silky fabric, just a v-neck type neck line that she was sure had some fancy name that she'd have to find out from Alice, with some ruffling around the edges and a bow in the center, and cap sleeves. It was the embodiment of classic elegance.

The shoes on the other hand she wasn't sure she could handle. They were a silver crisscrossing leather sandal with an ankle strap and a heel that not only could puncture a vital organ if pressure was applied properly but was so high she could already feel her ankles starting to weaken and wobble.

"These shoes could quite possibly land me in the hospital before the nights over."

Edward smiled and slid his arms around her waist, holding her tightly against his body. "That'll never happen because I have absolutely no intention of letting go of you tonight."

"Are you sure this is okay for this dinner? White isn't normally…"

"It's a Black and White function. Men where black tuxes, women white dresses we'll fit in perfectly, though I doubt we'll blend in with the crowd. You're definitely going to draw more attention tonight that I ever have. You look stunning."

She felt heat rush over her neck into her cheeks and knew by now she was most likely the most horrid shade of red. "Edward…"

"Shhh… you'll just have to accept the fact that you're gorgeous, love and tonight the rest of the world will know it as well."

"Let's just get this over with before I lose my nerve."

He offered her a crooked, breathtaking smile and placed his hand at the small of her back, guiding her towards the door. "There's nothing to be nervous about Bella. Just remember this is for charity."

"I know, I know. I just don't like drawing attention to myself."

Edwards slowed as they reached the elevator, turning her towards him as they stopped. "Listen to me Bella. I live a very public life. Not as public as some in my position but the press makes it their job to know what's going on in my private life as well as with my business ventures. Honestly I'm not sure how we've managed to keep our relationship as private as we have. But being with me means being the center of attention. I don't want you to be scared or feel like we can't have a relationship because of that. As far as I'm concerned, it's me and you. Only you and me even if we're in a room of thousands. If you can't handle that I need to know now. I don't want us to end, Bella but I want you to know from the start what you're getting yourself into."

She chewed on her bottom lip momentarily and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. Her eyes met his and she offered up a small smile. "I'm too far gone to back out now, so whether I can handle it or not, I'm in."

* * *

The remainder of their time in Santa Barbara went by without incident. The charity dinner went off without a hitch and Edward's foundation had raised over a million dollars for Autism Awareness. After spending what felt like hours posing for pictures with senators, celebrities, and doctors, as well as each other, he and Bella had finally been able to retire to their suite to properly celebrate the outcome of the dinner.

Needless to say, both Edward and Emmett had gotten the keys to the suites changed and requested that even housekeeping not be given access, which was easily done with management thanks to Edward's influence. Even with that's being done they kept a very skeptical eye on Mike at all times.

It was late Thursday afternoon, when Bella stepped out of a last minute conference and into Edward's waiting arms.

He buried his hands in her thick wavy hair, cupping the back of her head as he lowered his mouth to hers, not waiting as he thrust his tongue into her mouth and feasted on the sweetness within. "You taste good," he chuckled.

Bella looked up at him through glazed eyes. "So do you. Are you ready for your big presentation tonight?"

"Not as ready as I am to show you the private presentation I have planned for you later. I'm going to see that you're well taken care of tonight…"

Once again he brushed his lips over hers, only to be interrupted by a loud obnoxious voice.

"You think you guys can spare everyone the misery and save that for later. Maybe get a room somewhere… Oh wait, you already have one. Find it!" Jacob snarled in disgust as he stomped past them, a bottle blond with surgically enhanced breast at his side as he did so.

Bella cocked her eyebrow then looked at Edward. "Well that was pleasant."

Edward continued to glare at Jacob, not paying a bit of attention to Bella.

"Edward? Edward!" She finally took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "Would you let it go please? Don't you dare take this in that room."

He shook his head. "I won't. Promise."

She looked around making sure there was no one within earshot before continuing. "And if you tell anyone this I'll deny it but even though I work for the enemy…" she stood on her toes, letting her lips brush against his ear as she finishing, "I really want you to get this account."

"My lips are sealed. May the best man win."

"The best man already won." She slipped her fingers through his, allowing him to guide her into the ballroom where the final even of the conference was being held. Tonight Cullen Advertising, Volutri, and two other agencies were going to be presenting their bid for one of the largest accounts in the existence of advertising yet no one knew the company name. They'd been given a general description of the campaign that they were looking for as well as what the company specialized in but everything else was kept under lock and key. "Good luck."

Edward gave her a firm kiss. "I don't need it, I have you."

Bella nodded unable to stop the blush that colored her cheeks at his statement.

* * *

Jacob stood in the lobby trying not to drown his failure in the glass of scotch that rested in his right hand, all the while staring towards the group the was gathered near the stage with longing. To those who had no idea about Bella would've thought it was his need to win, as he'd finished second to Edward, yet again. Only this time it was on the job. The biggest chance of his career and it was lost to Edward Cullen.

Bella was held tight to his side as they worked their way through the executives of Anheuser-Busch for an endless number of photos.

"Good presentation, Jacob," Aro said, patting him on the shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Next time, buddy. There's more big fish out there just looking for what we have to offer."

Jacob just shook his head. "I'm always going to finish second," he said quietly.

Aro followed his gaze. "Why do I have a feeling this isn't about the campaign?"

"Because it isn't," he shrugged. "How is she getting away with being in those pictures when she works for you?"

"She's his girlfriend, Jacob. You would expect yours to be there." Aro chuckled as he watched Edward turn towards her and give her a long kiss. "You can't begrudge him that, Jacob. I'm not saying your life's been a cakewalk but I know his hasn't. He may be our biggest rival in the industry but he's truly a great kid Jake and deserves everything he gets. He's happy with her. Why is that so hard for you to see?"

"It's not. Doesn't mean I have to like it," he growled.

"Well don't make the rest of the world deal with your problems. It's your fault that you can't deal with them as a couple. You're the one that's put your friendship with Edward at stake as well as the beginning of a friendship you had with Bella. Not to mention, those of us that have known you for years are beginning to see a side of you that we don't like."

Jacob didn't respond, he just looked down at the ground before pushing past the reporters that were lingering in the background waiting for the impending press conference and strode towards the celebration.

He stood to the side as they took one more photo then stepped towards Edward. "Hey man," he called out, noticing the immediate change in Edward's demeanor as he stepped in front of Bella as though protecting her from him. "I just wanted to congratulate you. You deserve it."

Edward eyed him warily as Jacob stuck his hand out to shake his. He obliged, though more carefully than he normally would. "Thanks," Edward said quietly, nodding his head as he tried to read any intent in Jacob's eyes.

"I'm sorry," Jacob sighed then turned and walked away.

* * *

_**If you'd like to see Bella's dress check out Bergdorf-Goodman's website and look at the Valentino dresses. I'll try to get the link up on my profile but sometimes that doesn't always work for me.**_


	18. Chapter 17

___****__AN: Hiya people! Thanks for all of the reviews on the last chapter! You guys completely rock. Now please keep in mind as you finish up this chapter that I love all of you and I have never let you guys down with a story (except maybe the J/A situation in Somebody but that was necessary for the sequel) so just bear with me through this. I promise to make it worth it. Also please remember that I love every single one of you and value you're reviews and alerts. :D_

**_Also, I'm sure many of you have read numerous times about how I'm not that into Robert Pattinson and only find him attractive as Edward Cullen. Well, I'm by no means jumping on the Rob bandwagon here but those pictures from GQ have managed to inspire a little short which I hope you guys will enjoy. I'm not exactly done yet but I certainly hope you guys read it when it gets posted. The title is Capturing the Cub. May sound a little weird but you'll understand when you read it. I've been in full on drool mode since seeing those pics and they just had to inspire something._**

**_And now for the daily story recommendations: _****_Stuck In The Middle With You by COLDASICEx3(You'll have to visit twilighted(.)net for this one) and Can't Let Go by MadeleineJade(yet another high school fic). _**

**_One final thing guys... go vote for my dog!!! I can't figure out how to make this stupid link stuff on here work but got to_**

** www(.)bissell(.)com/MVP09/Week10/Vote10(.)aspx?ImageName=Emma&FileName=691(.)jpg **

**_Obviously remove the () to get to the page and vote for my Emma._**

**_Anywho...keep those Doucheward, Dickward, whatever you want to call him suggestions coming. You guys rock! _**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!_**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three

Bella was sitting on her porch swing eating a sandwich as she read the personalized romance that Edward had gotten her for Valentine's Day, with Lizzie lying at her feet. As cheesy as it was, it was actually quite good and the more she read it, the more she wanted to act out some of the scenes that occurred between "Bella and Edward."

"Hey…"

Looking up at the hushed voice, she was surprised to find Jacob leaning against the railing, looking up at her. "Hi," she said dryly before going back to read.

"Can we talk for a minute?"

"I don't see what there is to talk about."

He barely contained a snort of irritation as he stepped up on the porch only to have Lizzie sit up and growl. "I need to apologize for the things I said to you."

She pursed her lips but didn't bother to look up. "Alright, so apologize and leave."

"Bella…"

"What Jacob? What do I owe you? I thought you were my friend and you treated me like some whore all because I wouldn't date you or whatever the hell you wanted me to do. Well you know what? You can apologize until you're blue in the face but I'm not accepting it any time soon. When I'm ready, I'll come to you and we'll talk but until then can you please just let it go." She sighed and raised her eyes to meet his. "We have to work together but other than that, I want nothing to do with you."

He hung his head shamefully, refusing to meet her glare. He'd fucked up. That much he knew but what was he to do if she wouldn't accept what he offered her. Maybe he could at least try to mend his friendship with Edward. If there was anything left to be mended.

* * *

The days following the conference in Santa Barbara had been stressful for all involved. Except for Edward, seeing that he'd won the contract of a lifetime with seemingly very little effort.

After Jacob had shown up at her house Monday afternoon, Bella had spent the remainder of the day inside, curled up on the couch with Lizzie at her feet as she read. Much like they had been before being so rudely interrupted.

Then after hours of much needed relaxation, even though she'd hardly worked a day while in California, she took the appropriate measures to ready herself for Edward's victory party. Making sure to take clothes for work the following day as well as Lizzie, she made it to Edward's just as the guests began to arrive and didn't have a moment alone with Edward until he'd finally made it to bed sometime around 3. About 4 hours after her.

Now she sat staring at the blank monitor in her office, trying to focus on the tasks ahead of her. The largest one was being able to have a civilized conversation with Jacob.

"Good morning, Bella," Aro's rough voice called from the doorway before making a large spectacle of clearing his throat. "Mind if we have a talk?"

She shrugged and motioned to the chair across from her as she watched him close the door to her office. "You're not going to fire me for fraternizing with the enemy are you?"

He chuckled," No, not at all. I just wanted to see if things were alright. Jacob hasn't caused any more problems has he?"

"No. He came over yesterday to apologize but honestly, our friendship wasn't that balanced to begin with before he said all those hateful things to me. I'm not quite ready for his apologies just yet. At least not without thinking there's an ulterior motive."

"Understood," he replied quietly. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just make sure we don't have to spend a large amount of time alone in closed quarters and we should be fine," Bella quipped, though serious.

Aro rose to his feet. "Just let me know if you have any problems."

Bella pursed her lips as she watched him leave her office then glanced down at the papers in front of her. This was going to be the longest day of her life. Just knowing she could see Jacob at any moment was always at the back of her mind and trying to concentrate was harder than it should be.

The real rub was, she didn't like being angry at Jacob or the entire situation. She'd always been the happy go lucky sort and very rarely let things set her off but he'd really gone too far. She had to keep reminding herself of that.

Needless to say, she'd never been so happy when it was time to go home. She hurriedly shut off her computer and grabbed her purse and bag then made a beeline for the exit.

Unfortunately for her, that involved taking the elevator and who should be on it when the door opened but Jacob. And only Jacob.

"I'll take the next one," she muttered as she came to a quick halt upon realizing he was there.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Oh just get on the elevator Bella. It's a 30 second ride to the first floor. You'll be fine. I'll stay on my side."

Raising her chin in the air, defiantly, she stepped onto the elevator, practically gluing herself to the wall opposite him as he pushed the button to close the doors. Not a moment later, there was a shudder and car came to a stop.

"What the hell did you do?" Bella bit out as she glared at him, barely withholding a squeal when the lights shut off.

"I didn't do anything, damnit. I just pressed the freaking button to close the doors."

The emergency light took its sweet time turning on but by the time it did, a dull nearly greenish glow immersed the small room.

Bella set her bag and purse down in the corner. "Well don't just sit there. Use the emergency phone. This is an emergency."

Jacob rolled his eyes and picked up the phone. "Hello? Hello?"

"What?"

"It's not working."

"What do you mean it's not working?" Bella growled, snatching the phone from his hand only to have it pull out of the wall in the process, therefore disconnecting it, even if it had been working. "Son of a bitch!"

Jacob took the phone from her hand, wanting to laugh at the situation but knew that would only make the remaining time stuck with her even more unbearable.

"God could this day get any worse!"

"Oh, I don't know. Mine's getting worse by the minute," Jacob drawled as he slipped out of his jacket and sat on the floor. "Last thing I wanted was to get stuck in an elevator with an over-reactive woman."

Her brows furrowed angrily as she dug through her purse for her cell phone. "I'm not over reacting. We're stuck and we can't use that… phone," she gestured emphatically at the wires that hung precariously from the unit. "I have very good reasoning for my reaction and there's nothing over about it!"

"Whatever you say," he mumbled as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Give me your cell phone…"

"Huh?"

"Your cell. Let me see it."

Jacob pursed his lips as he stretched his legs out and reached into his pocket for his phone. "What's wrong with yours?"

"I guess I left it at home this morning."

He rolled his eyes at her and tossed her the phone, knowing she wouldn't get a signal in the elevator. He'd never been able to get one. "It's not going to work."

"Thanks for the encouragement."

"What?! I just don't want you getting your hopes up. I've never been able to use that phone in this elevator as long as I've worked here."

"Then you need a new carrier."

Bella dialed in Edward's number and pressed send, only to have the phone immediately disconnect. Not quite ready to give up, she tried three more times before tossing it back at him and collapsing in defeat. "You did this."

"What? I got us stuck in the elevator? Mind if I ask how?"

"You paid someone to do it."

Jacob couldn't help but laugh at her accusing glare. "Whatever you want to think sweetheart, go right ahead. Wake me up when this bitch starts moving again."

"You're going to sleep?" she asked, her voice seemingly higher with every word she spoke. "How can you sleep!? We're stuck in an elevator."

He cocked on eyebrow and gave her a smirk. "Got something more… enjoyable in mind?"

"Ugh!"

* * *

Edward tossed his phone on couch and looked at the clock before turning his gaze to Lizzie. She was sprawled next to him with her head resting on his thigh, whimpering with the passing of the time. "I don't know where your mama's at, girl. She should've been here hours ago."

He rubbed his eyes and finally stood up and grabbed his keys. He then walked out of the house with his dog, Sam and Lizzie on his heels, intent on finding Bella. She worked late on occasion but normally she'd call if she was going to be this late, especially when he had Lizzie.

It was now inching up on 9 o'clock and he had yet to hear a word from herm she wasn't answering her cell or her office phone. He drove as fast as he could to get to Volturi and pulled into the lot to see a fire engine and half a dozen cars in the lot, two of them belonging to Jacob and Bella.

Making sure to crack the windows for the dogs, he hopped out and headed into the building to see a group of people gathered around the elevators.

"What's goin on?" he asked Aro, finding him standing just to the side of the chaos.

Aro shook his head. "Power flickered earlier and apparently blew some fuses in the elevators so we've got people stuck in both of them. What are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to get in touch with Bella for a few hours and couldn't get her. And she never showed up to get Lizzie. Normally if she's going to work late, she calls me. I thought I'd check to see if she was still here."

Aro nodded and chewed on his bottom lip as the doors to one of the elevators was forced open and three women stepped out. All of them had mascara stained cheeks, no doubt having cried in fear while being stuck. "Maybe she's in the other one," he mumbled, seeing the worry on Edward's face. He didn't want to add that Jacob was most likely in there with her.

With the tumultuous relationship between the three over the last few weeks, he didn't want to add any fuel to the fire. He just hoped he didn't have a harassment case on his hands when they walked out.

Edward pushed through the remaining group of people as the doors to the second elevator were opened. The car was only lowered halfway into the shaft so he could only make out two sets of feet but relief washed over him after a moment when Bella's feet were firmly on solid ground and her eyes met his.

"Edward…" she sighed, rushing into his arms, hoping to pull his attention away from Jacob but that didn't happen.

Edward's jaw hardened. "You've been stuck with him for four hours? Did he try anything with you?"

"No," Bella replied flatly. "Let's just get out of here. I want to see my baby and go home."

Nodding in agreement, he slipped his arm around her waist and glanced back over his shoulder to see Jacob watching them with interest and what he could swear was a smirk.

"I've been worried about you," he said sweetly, pressing a kiss to the temple as they walked outside. "Do you want to leave your car? I'll bring you to work in the morning."

She chewed on her lip a moment before shaking her head. "Nah. I'm just going to head home and take a shower then go to bed. That was too stressful for me to handle right now."

Edward slowly nodded and walked to his car to let Lizzie out before following her over to Bella. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist to pull him against her. "I just want to be alone after being cooped up with Jacob for all of that time. Other than that I'm fine. Just need some me time."

She brushed her lips against his and pulled away to open the door and let Lizzie in.

"I'll follow you," Edward said softly before walking away. He got into his truck and sat there trying to pinpoint exactly what was different about Bella from when she'd left that morning. "You're being paranoid. Let it go. She's been through a very long day. She'll be fine." Now if he just kept telling himself that, he may just believe it.

* * *

Bella slid into the warm bubbles and settled back against her bath pillow with closed eyes. She felt like shit. Being cramped in such a small place for hours had played havoc on her body, not to mention hours of trying to expel the thoughts that had run through her mind at the situation she was in.

It was a perfect porn situation is what it was. That's why she'd told Edward she needed some time at home because if he knew exactly how turned on she'd gotten by being closed up in that elevator with Jacob, it would make him crazy.

She groaned in agitation, mainly at herself but also at Jacob. He'd played her like a freaking piano in that elevator. He knew every little button to push, every little word to say and every little action that would tease and taunt her without actually doing anything at all.

And the smirk on his face before she'd left had proved that he knew what he'd been doing and that it had worked.

And it really, really had worked. Because here she was naked, submerged in hot, silky bubbles and all she could that about was naked Jacob submerged in the bubbles with her.

Her hands slid over her body, sliding gently over her thighs then up to her breasts. She cupped them brushing her thumbs over the hardened tip of her nipples before allowing her hand to slip between her legs.

She swept the tip of her finger over the already swollen bud between her legs and before she knew it the images of Jacob filling her over and over again clouded her thoughts.

Completely oblivious to the gushing water that slid over the sides of the tub at their actions, he pounded into her bringing her to release with very little work and the hurried rush of his name from her lips brought her crashing back to existence.

"Oh hell," she muttered, pulling the tub stop out with her toe. She carefully stood up, wrapping the towel securely around her body as she barely escaped the bathroom unscathed.

Quickly drying off, she put on a pair of pajama pants and t-shirt and tossed the towel back into the bathroom to absorb the flood then crawled into bed.

Her heart pounded and guilt surged through her. It was at that exact moment she realized the mistake she made in getting involved so soon. She should've just stayed friends with both Jacob and Edward and let it go at that.

Nothing good was going to come out of this. Either Edward was going to get his heart broken or hers was. Somebody was going to be the loser in this and oddly, she prayed it would be her.

As much pain as it would bring her, she couldn't handle being the cause for someone else's heartache.

If nothing else was learned from this, she knew now, more than ever, she had to close herself off around Jacob. He was dangerous and she'd be best to remember that.


	19. Chapter 18

___****__AN: Alright everyone, I'm posting this now because I don't want all of you thinking I'm plotting against Edward and Bella. I'm not saying the drama is over yet because it's not but there is only one more chapter after this one and a short and sweet epilogue to follow it up._

**_I don't want anyone else toying with the idea of not reading my stuff so just bear with me a few more days. You'll get chapter Nineteen and the Epilogue on Thursday._**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!_**

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

Bright and early the following morning, Bella was walking to her car when Edward pulled into the drive and climbed out of his Volvo. "Morning love," he grumbled, his voice still rough from sleep.

"Morning," she smiled, tossing her bag into the car before walking around to slide into Edward's embrace. "Just wake up?"

He barely nodded and lowered his mouth to hers for brief but breathtaking kiss. "Yup. I didn't sleep well. The bed was cold and I wasn't hanging off of the side with no covers like I have been for the last few weeks."

"Oh hush," she quipped, poking him in the stomach as she stuck out her tongue. "Why don't you stay here tonight? As much money as I'm spending on this house, I need to sleep in it every now and then. You can bring Sam. I'm sure Lizzie wouldn't mind sharing her toys for once."

Edward's hands absently rubbed her back as he agreed with a yawn. "Sounds good. What time you want me?"

"I always want you."

"Well, just stay out of any elevators today and I'll meet you here around 5:30 alright?"

"Perfect."

Edward watched her walk away and get into her car before he climbed back into his car and started the engine, thankful that all of the heat hadn't escaped the when he'd opened the door.

He hadn't intended on dropping by Bella's on the way to work but after her behavior last night, he'd been worried but judging by this morning, everything was fine. Like she'd said, spending all the time trapped with Jacob had taken its toll on her and she just needed some time alone.

She waved as she pulled away and he pulled out onto the road. All he wanted now was for this day to be done with so he could spend some quality, hopefully naked, time with his woman.

* * *

Emmett was sitting at Edward's desk bouncing a tennis ball off of the wall when Edward finally got to work and he was not in the mood to deal with the other man.

"Get out," he barked, stopping to point at the open door. "Out Emmett."

"What the hell man? Someone piss in your corn flakes?"

Edward sighed. "Just get out. I'm not in the mood this morning to be agitated."

Emmett watched his friend take his previously occupied seat then sat across from him. "You and Bella have a fight? What'd you do?"

"I didn't do anything, thank you. I just didn't get to see much of her last night. She got stuck in an elevator with Jacob for four hours yesterday and ended up staying home last night so …"

"So you didn't get laid and you're pissy."

"Oddly, no. She was just acting really odd afterwards before she went home but this morning she was fine. I just don't know what's going on. This is why I stay single. I hate having to figure out women. Not that I'd give up Bella in exchange for not figuring things out."

Emmett's gaze began to wander around the room as though he were trying to keep from looking at Edward but it didn't go unnoticed.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you looking around like that?"

"No reas…"

"Emmett…"

"Fine! Did something happen between her and Jacob on the elevator?"

Edward frowned. "Of course not."

"Did you ask?"

"Well… yeah, kind of. I asked if he tried anything with her. She said he didn't."

Emmett snorted. "Maybe he succeeded."

"Bella's not like that, Emmett. She's not going to just jump the guy that pays her the most attention at the time. I mean hell, she hasn't touched you has she? And you've tried your damnedest to get her attention. Just please get out like I asked you to when I got here."

"Fine. If you need to talk you know where I am."

"Yeah," Edward replied though it was barely audible. As much as he tried to get Emmett's words out of his mind, he couldn't. _Maybe he succeeded. _Maybe he had. But for the life of him, he couldn't honestly believe that Bella would do that. She wouldn't lie to him, especially about that.

He was just going to have to have a talk with her later. They needed to get things sorted out. It was still early in their relationship they had plenty of time to work around any problems.

* * *

Bella got home at exactly 5:30 and Edward was already there, in the kitchen making dinner. "Wow, what did I do to deserve this?" she asked as she placed her bag by the door and headed into the kitchen.

She slipped her arms around his waist from behind and peered over his shoulder to see what he was making.

"Hey baby," he smiled and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Hope you like stir-fry."

"Who doesn't? I'm going to run upstairs and change."

Edward turned to watch her walk away. She stopped at the foot of the stairs and removed her shoes then quickly ran up them. He shook his head and turned back to the food in the pan, trying his best to focus on it and not the conversation he was going to have to have with her later.

He didn't want to screw things up but he didn't want to worry about losing Bella to another man.

"Anything I can do?" she asked, as she bent to retrieve a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Nah. It's almost done."

"Where are the dogs?"

"Out back. They got a little too riled up."

Bella pursed her lips as she watched him then turned to grab some plates out of the cabinet and some silverware from the drawer.

"Go on, I'm right behind you."

She set the table then sat down and Edward promptly filled both of their plates with food before returning the pan to the stove and grabbing a few bottles of beer on his way.

"This is great baby," Bella smiled as she scooped up her second bite of food.

"Thanks," was his simple reply.

Not another word was said during dinner which Bella found odd considering Edward rarely kept his mouth shut when he was eating. Finally after finishing her food and having enough of the silence she'd had enough.

"Alright, what's eating at you?" she blurted out, receiving a shocked stare in return. "Come on, you're never this quiet during dinner."

Edward took a long drink from his beer and stared at the table for a moment before looking her in the eye. "When I asked you yesterday about Jacob trying something with you, you said no."

"That's because he didn't," she said quietly, trying to gauge where he was going with this.

"If he didn't try did he…"

"Edward, nothing happened with Jacob. He didn't touch me he didn't get within two feet of me the entire time we were in the elevator."

He sighed. He felt like an asshole. "I'm sorry, I just… He …"

"Look, I'm going to be honest with you about something. I don't want you to read more into it than there is but just listen alright. Jacob's an attractive man. I'd have to be completely blind not to notice that. But the thing is, being trapped in the elevator with him played with my mind a little. There were things he said and actions that he made that in any other situation could've been completely innocent but the entire situation was tense. And I'd be lying if I said it didn't turn me on a little."

Edward's jaw tensed and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wait, don't get that way. I had to be by myself last night to try to free myself from that. It really played with my mind but I don't want Jacob. I don't want to be with him."

"Well you must if being with him in a confined area gets you hot…"

"Edward? Can you seriously tell me if you'd gotten stuck in an elevator for four hours with … hmmm… let's say some random Victoria's Secret model or Playmate of the year that you wouldn't be jumping at the bit to fuck her?"

He didn't answer, just cocked his head a little to the side.

"I'm with you because I want to be. Need I remind you I had a choice between you and Jacob? He made it very clear to me that night at your house that he was interested but I wasn't."

"I just don't feel comfortable about you being around him."

Bella snorted as she stood and began clearing off the table. "Trust me, I learned last night what a dangerous situation that is and I'm not going to get in it again. I took the stairs at work all day and I stayed very clear of Jacob."

"But you can't always. I mean you have to work with him."

She placed the dishes in the sink and turned to find Edward stepping up to her. "I guess you're just going to have to trust me then."

"I guess," he muttered. "Now that we've got that out of the way, can we go upstairs and get naked?"

Patting him on the cheek softly, she chuckled. "Glad to know you're focused."

* * *

The minute Bella walked into work the next morning she knew she was in for a long day. Aro and Jacob were waiting for her in the lobby and stopped her before she could even make it to the stairs.

"Bella, hold up," Aro called, approaching her while Jacob stayed behind. "I know I promised you that I wouldn't put you in this situation but I need to go with Jacob today."

She furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Aro, he's got an assistant for that. Where's he?"

"His wife is having surgery today and assistant's assistant in sick. I really need you to do this because I can't. I've got meetings all day."

"Well, I've got a deadline in case you forgot. Taking care of Jacob isn't my job. I was hired for a completely different reason. I'm a graphic artist." Quickly closing her mouth, she realized that she'd technically just mouthed off to her boss. "I just… I have stuff to finish. I can't get an extension on this deadline."

Aro sighed. He really hated to put her in this predicament but he was really to the point of grasping at straws. If Jacob's appointments weren't completely detail oriented he would've just gotten one of the administrative assistants to go with him but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. "Look, I'll call and get the deadline extended. Just give me the information. I really need you to go to these meetings with him today and pay attention to details. This is something that could mean a lot of money for us and if he misses even a bit of information it could cost us dearly. And in the long run, it's something that's going to be coming your way."

"Fine," she sighed, her heart feeling heavier by the moment. "What am I dealing with here?"

"Some new product placement adverts with Mars, just make sure they're workable and to our advantage. When you get back we'll talk through it."

"What's the point of Jacob going if he's not going to be paying attention to the details?"

"He will be but there's always a chance he'll miss something. I never send an agent into a meeting without back-up so to speak. They'll probably have some shareholders there who'll want to meet with you two, they like to know how their money is being spent."

"All right."

She walked slowly towards Jacob, dread burrowing in the pit of her stomach with each step.

"Ready?" he asked with a genuinely endearing smile and she could've kicked herself as she smiled easily back.

"I guess."

When they arrived at the airstrip ten minutes later, alarm bells started to go off.

"Um. Jacob, where is this meeting?"

He frowned. "Vancouver. Did Aro not mention that?"

"Uh-uh. This is… When will we be back?"

"This afternoon. The meetings at 11. We should be on our way back around 3 or 4."

Bella nodded and stepped away from him. "I'll be right back."

She chewed on her lip as she dialed Edward's number, silently berating herself for taking this job. The more things like this happened the more she wished she'd just stayed in Phoenix.

"Hey love, miss me already?" Edward chuckled, making it even harder for her to tell him the real reason for her call.

"You know it," she replied dryly, somewhat hoping he picked up on the uneasiness in her voice.

"What's wrong, Bella?"

With a heavy sigh she glance d over her shoulder to find Jacob watching her. "I've got to go to a meeting with Jacob. We're about to leave."

"Um, okay. Why do you have to go? Is it something you'll be dealing with?"

"I guess eventually," she replied, obvious frustration in her voice. "When I got to work he and Aro were waiting on me in the lobby. Jake's assistant's wife is having surgery and the backup is sick so I have to go to Vancouver with him for an 11 o'clock meeting with Mars. He said we should be on our way back around 3 or 4."

Edward sat quietly for a moment, not quite sure what to say. He knew this was part of her job and she couldn't exactly say no to Aro but he was in no way okay with this. It was adding to the already mounting pressure between the two of them. "You do what you have to do, love. I know you can't not do it. Just be careful alright."

"Yeah. I just wanted you to know what's going on. I know you're kind of insecure about this and I'm not exactly comfortable with it either."

"I appreciate that. Call me when you head back."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye."

Hanging up the phone she turned back and started for the plane.

"Everything alright?" Jacob asked as he stepped back to let her onto the plane.

She nodded but didn't speak as she sat in the seat furthest from the window and hopefully farthest from Jacob.

He sat across from her and thought back to the only other time he'd been on a plane with her. She obviously hadn't gotten over that fear, flying with Edward, though he had no doubt Edward did other things to keep her mind off of the flight.

Unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury.

"Just relax. We'll be there in no time."

She nodded and closed her eyes, praying this day would go by quickly and without incident.

* * *

_AN: I just wanted to make a comment quickly before going into the next chapter because it's really going to come into play there. All throughout this story everyone has been warning Bella that Edward was going to hurt her. Obviously, that's not the case. I know it seems like he's not as upset by her actions as he should be but you have to consider his past. Up until he met Bella, Edward was hoping from one woman to the other. So in a way, this is karma. This is his past coming back to bite him in the butt and rather than go crazy and lose the most important thing in his life, he's giving her the opportunity to decide what she really wants. I'm not sure this is making much sense but hopefully you get the gist of his reaction to Bella's actions in the previous chapter as well as the next one._


	20. Chapter 19

___****__AN: Hello everyone! I'd like to start off by saying sorry to anyone who wasn't able to post a review on the last chapter. I'm not exactly sure what happened but it appears a few of you had that trouble so I'm sorry about that (Not that I could help it in any way.) Also you will be getting a White Flag update tomorrow so we get to find out about Baby Cullen... Yay!_

**_Btw, I finally got my test results back. Everything's normal which just means I've got to wait however long it's going to take my difficult system to cycle out of 5 years of birth control, then I have to hope my husband doesn't have drunk sperm. Go figure._**

**_Now, this is the final chapter for Drifting. There is a super short epilogue that was you will be getting around 4 this afternoon and when I say super short, I mean it. It's just a little snippet of ten years down the road but super cute and worth reading (if I do say so myself). There is a tiny tiny bit of Jake/Bella in this chapter but there is a warning if you want to skip right over it, feel free... I know some of you can't stand anything remotely like that but it's worth it to read to the end of this chapter, I promise._**

**_I honestly don't know what story I'm going to follow this one up with, I don't have anything completed yet. I'm still working on the GQ inspired short so you should be getting that soon and even though it's a little out of my norm, I'm toying with one or two college fics so we'll see what happens there. One's a little further along than the other but I like the plot line better for the one that's not so far along so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I pride myself on writing fics that aren't stuck in the high school and college genre but these two plots have been rolling around in my mind for a while and if I don't write them I may pass them on to someone else if they'd like to try it out. Just keep an eye out for new fics from me, that's all I can say right now._**

**_And I'm sure many of you have heard about Natasha Richardson, granted I wasn't a huge fan but my heart is completely breaking for Liam Neeson, who I absolutely love and adore. I can't even imagine what he's having to go through. _**

**_I don't really have an fic recommendations today as I just started reading something new, I've only read 1 chapter and though it's really good, I don't want to be presumptuous in assuming the entire story is too so give me a few more chapters on that rec._**

**_Enjoy this guys! Your feedback has been awesome!_**

**_And keep sending me Doucheward fics please!_**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!_**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen

Bella closed up her folio after writing down pages of notes regarding the future ads for Mars, Inc with Volturi. She's barely had a chance to take a drink of her water much less anything else during the four hours they'd been in the conference room.

What she really didn't understand as she glanced over at Jacob as he sat next to her was why he hadn't spoken a word since they got there and other than a greeting from the company president, no one had even spoken to him. He was the executive in charge of this account and hadn't done a damn thing since they stepped into the building. He had absolutely no reason to bring her along other than except for him to sit there and look pretty while doing nothing. Everyone was speaking to her as if she were his secretary and it was her duty to sit there and take it, it pissed her off.

She smiled and shook a few hands before shoving her things back into her briefcase and storming out of the room.

"Bella wait up," Jacob called from behind her, jogging to catch her at the elevator bay. "What's wrong?"

Cutting her eyes at him she just shook her head. "What was the point of you even being here? You didn't do a damn thing, at least not in the sense that you opened your mouth to ask or answer a damn question. This is something I could've done on my own, I certainly didn't need to you to come along.

He just shrugged in response. "I'm in charge of this account, Aro wanted me here."

"Whatever. I'm having a long talk with Aro as soon as we get back to the office. You may be finding yourself someone else to work with."

"What?! You're quitting?"

Bella just walked onto the elevator as the doors opened and groaned inwardly when she realized she'd just gotten herself in a confined space with Jacob again. If the elevator stopped this time, they were in trouble and there was no way she could be held responsible for her actions.

Luckily she was wearing black so any bloodshed would hopefully blend in with the material.

"I'm not talking to you right now, Jacob so just … ugh! Stay on your side."

The moment they reached the lobby she jumped off of the car as quickly as she could and walked briskly towards the door.

"Wait up, Bells. I've got to call and to get the plane ready."

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Jacob dial a number. A few moments later a loud 'you're kidding' coming from his mouth caught her attention.

"What?! What is it?"

He closed the phone and looked over at her wearily, knowing she was going to have a fit when he told her. "Airport's closed down. They aren't letting anyone in or out until at least tomorrow afternoon when the storm has moved out of here."

"Storm? What storm? I don't hear a storm," she rambled on as she made her way to the door and looked out to see a steady stream of snow falling onto the cold Vancouver streets.

Small areas had already accumulated on the grassy areas but the street was beginning to resemble slush. "Shit."

Walking back to towards the reception desk she inquired about the closest hotel finding that a Hilton was only a few blocks away then she walked out of the building to flag down a cab.

Jacob followed her quietly, scared if he said anything she'd blow up at him like it was his fault there was snow. He didn't do anything. Nothing was his fault. Well except for pleading with Aro to have Bella go with him.

All he wanted was for them to have some time to sort things out and maybe start over, like for instance on the flight there and back home. This was more than he could've hoped for but he was definitely saying a quiet prayer of thanks for things working out this way.

He stepped out and tried to help Bella as they arrived at the hotel but she blew him off and stalked past him into the large lobby.

"Yes we need to get two rooms for the night please," Bella said politely when she reached the desk, refusing to look at Jacob even though she would occasionally glance at his reflection in the mirror behind the counter.

As much as she hated to admit it, he looked absolutely gorgeous. His hair was damp from the heavy snowfall and the thick black sweater that he wore fit his defined chest and arms snuggly, leaving very little to the imagination. She absolutely refused to look at this pants, knowing very well that the gray material hung just so over the roundness of his ass.

"Miss? Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Yes?" Bella blushed, hoping Jacob didn't see or realize that she was having extremely impure thoughts about his body.

The woman smiled at her before glancing over at Jacob with welcoming smile. "We only have one room available. The storm filled us up quite quickly."

"One room? You don't have a suite or anything?"

"No miss, I'm sorry."

Bella's hands clenched involuntarily. "Is the room at least a double?"

"I'm sorry, no. But there is a sleeper sofa. It is one of our executive rooms."

With a sigh Bella nodded. "We'll take it." She turned to Jacob as she started for her purse. "Do you happen to have a company credit card?"

Jacob nodded and dug into his pocket for his wallet. "Yeah, I'll get this," he smiled.

Bella just shrugged. "I'll be back."

She walked into the corner of the lobby and pulled out her cell phone, slowly dialing Edward's number. She really didn't want to have this conversation. There was no way it wouldn't end badly.

"Hey love, are you on your way home?" Edward said the moment he picked up, she could hear the smile in his voice and it made the guilt settle even more heavily in her stomach.

Clearing her throat, she glanced over her shoulder to see Jacob flirting with the petite blond that had been helping them. "We're not going to be back today."

"What? Why?"

"Apparently they've shut down the airport. It's snowing pretty heavily up here. We're at the Hilton down the street from where our meeting was but they've only got one room left so…"

She grew quiet and waited for Edward to speak. This was definitely not going well. She just wanted to be home with him.

"You realize this is a test don't you?" he spoke after finally finding his voice again. He was extremely uneasy about the situation but what could he do? What could Bella do?

Chewing at her lip, she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "What if I fail it?"

"Then that's just something we'll have to deal with when you get back."

"Alright," she said quietly. This was going to be the longest night of her life. "Edward, I hate to ask this but…"

"I'll go get Lizzie. She can stay here tonight."

"Thank you."

"No problem. I know this is going to be hard for you Bella but just try to be strong alright. And I'm not encouraging you to act on your desires by any means but if something happens, it's not necessarily over between us."

"Edward…"

"No, listen. I know this has been hard for you. I know that before you moved here that James was the only guy you'd ever been with and now you've got a few guys giving you attention. I know you've never been in this position before. I just want you to be careful no matter what happens alright? We'll talk when you get back."

"Ok…"

"I'm sorry Edward."

"Don't be sorry until you have a reason to be. Bye love."

She hung up the phone and put it back in her purse then joined Jacob at the counter. "We ready?"

"Yup," he smiled. "Have a good evening, Sheila," he drawled at the blond, receiving a flirtatious wave and giggle in response.

"Do you ever think with anything besides your dick?" Bella bit out harshly as the again stepped onto an elevator.

Jacob just chuckled. "You're not jealous are you?"

"Not likely. In case you've forgotten, I've got a boyfriend at home that I'm extremely happy with and he keeps me very well satisfied. The last thing I need is you."

He licked his lips and leaned down, letting his lips brush just barely against her ear as he spoke. "We'll see exactly how satisfied you are when you're lying in bed tonight…"

The doors opened at that moment and he walked calmly out, leaving Bella to find her bearings before following him at a much slower rate. "I'm so going to fail…"

* * *

They stepped into the room and when the door closed behind them, Bella felt like her world was closing in on her. This room was going to bring everything she'd tried to build with Edward crashing down on her and though she had the opportunity to stop it, she didn't have the will.

"Why don't you get a shower, I'll order us something to eat," Jacob said as if everything were perfectly normal about the situation.

Bella sighed and slowly nodded her head. "Yeah." She walked through the sitting area of the room which held the sleeper sofa and a narrow coffee table and placed her bag on the king size bed on the far side of the room.

"What do you want to eat?" Jacob asked as he lounged on the sofa, thumbing through the menu.

"Burger's fine."

She hurried past him into the bathroom, making sure to close and lock the door behind her. Taking her time in the shower, she was doing her best to avoid Jacob as long as she could.

After she got out she slipped back into her panties and the thin camisole she'd worn under her blouse before wrapping the robe on the back of the door around her. She quickly rinsed her stockings out in the sink and tossed them over the towel rack to dry then slowly exited the room.

Jacob had just placed their food on the table when Bella finally emerged from the bathroom and he couldn't help staring. Her hair was wet and carelessly piled atop her head. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the water and as she walked towards him a slim expanse of her legs played a game of hide and seek with his wandering eyes.

"Hope you're hungry these burgers are huge," he said, taking a bite out of his burger as Bella sat on the floor on the opposite side of the table giving him a clear view down the folds of the robe. He frowned seeing the thin material against her but knew she wouldn't be sleeping in that all night which gave him just the slightest bit of hope.

She ate in silence, refusing to meet his gaze as she grabbed for the remote and began flipping through channels.

"Turn that back," Jacob called through a mouth full of food, only to reach over and grab the remote from her hands.

"What are you putting it on?"

Jacob just shook his head and turned it on a basketball game.

"I'm not watching this," she scowled. "Turn it on something decent."

"This is decent. Would you rather watch something to get you in the mood?" he asked suggestively wiggling his eyebrows as he did so.

She took the last bite of her burger and stood up, making her way to the bed.

"How's Edward feel about this?" Jacob asked, seeing her stare at her cell phone before turning to look out the window.

"He's not exactly happy about it but what can he do?" she turned off the lamp next to her bed and pulled back the blankets and shrugged out of the robe, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Jacob was caught up in the game.

She dropped the robe to the floor and burrowed beneath the thick blankets on the bed as she tried to get situated.

"I'm getting a shower," Jacob blurted abruptly.

He left the tv on as he walked into the bathroom, coming to quick halt when he saw Bella's stockings hanging from the towel rack. He fingered the soft nylon before thumbing at the lacey area at the top of the thigh high. "Son of a bitch," he bit out, feeling his body harden in response to the images running through his mind. All of which consisted of Bella wearing nothing but those thigh highs and a garter belt or her in the process of removing the nylons.

Half an hour later he emerged from the bathroom completely naked. Bella's eyes were closed so he assumed she was either asleep or doing her best to ignore him so he pushed the coffee table out of the way and removed the cushions from the sofa.

Bending down he tugged on the handle to pull out the bed but nothing happened. "Shit."

He tried again, harder this time and still nothing happened. "Son of a bitch."

"What the hell are y… Holy shit! Jacob put some freaking clothes on!" Bella cried as she sat up in bed to see what he was swearing about. She slapped her hands over her eyes and looked down at the comforter. "Seriously, put something on."

"I don't have anything but jeans. And I sleep naked so you'll just have to deal."

"Put some underwear on or something."

"I don't wear underwear," he replied as he put the cushions back on the coach and made his way towards her bed.

Feeling the bed shift as he sat down, Bella began to hyperventilate. "What the hell are you doing? Go get in bed. You aren't sleeping here."

Jacob glanced over his shoulder as she pulled the blankets up to her neck. "The bed's stuck and I ain't sleeping on the couch."

"Then I will," she bit out, bending down to pick up the robe she'd discarded earlier.

**_**** WARNING: LITTLE BIT OF JAKE/BELLA... VERY LITTLE NO SEX THOUGHT****_**

Jacob chuckled and reached across the bed to grab her before she could get away. "Oh no you don't," he murmured against her neck as he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her body back against his.

"Jacob, let go of me please."

"What's the problem Bells? I just want to get some sleep and it's awfully cold in here. There's nothing wrong with snuggling." He carefully eased his thumb beneath the hem of her camisole and randomly drew circles against her smooth skin. "You smell good."

Releasing a heavy sigh, Bella moved as far away from him as she could until she was nearly hanging off of the bed but it didn't stop him. "Jacob, please, just let me sleep."

"Not a problem, babe." He kissed her the bare skin at the curve of her neck and pulled her body flush against his. His hardness rested against her ass and the longer they lay there the more worked up he grew.

Bella kept her eyes tightly closed, hoping he'd think she was asleep and turn away but the constant prodding against her backside and the image of him naked continued to run through her mind. As the minutes ticked by she felt her body begin to give in and before she knew what was happening, she was on her back and Jacob was hovering over her.

"Jacob," she breathed, her voice stalling in her throat as his mouth descended on hers.

He kissed her thoroughly, his tongue fighting with hers only momentarily before she began to stroke his encouraging him on.

"God you're beautiful," he sighed, tearing his mouth from hers as he kissed at her jaw and began nipping at the sensitive skin of her neck. "So fucking beautiful."

She threaded her hands through the thick messiness of his hair, holding him to her as his kneaded the fullness of her breast and flicked his tongue over the hardening peak of her nipple.

Jacob pushed her camisole up, freeing her breasts to his hungry gaze. He continued his assault then began peppering kisses over her taut stomach as he worked his way down her body.

His fingers brushed against her hot core and he tugged at the waist of her panties before she was fully able to grasp what was happening.

**_****END JAKE/BELLA****_**

"No…" she muttered, not sounding at all like she meant it. "No. Jacob, stop, please." She pushed him off of her and scrambled off of the bed. Taking the robe with her she hastily wrapped it around her and tied it tightly then curled up on the couch.

"Bells…"

"No, just stay there. I'll sleep here. That shouldn't have happened Jacob."

"Come on," he pleaded. "I'll behave, I promise."

She scoffed at his words. "Why don't I believe that? As long as your cock's hanging out I seriously doubt that's something you can do."

"Bella please," he continued. "I won't touch you again. I'll stay far away, you can't sleep over there. It's freezing."

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Despite the heat blowing through the room it was quite cold. "Fine."

She double knotted the belt on her robe and slid back into bed though this time she didn't turn her back to him. Scooting to the far side of the bed, she curled into a ball and willed herself a quick sleep.

Nothing would be okay until she was home with Edward.

* * *

By the time they landed back in Port Angeles the following afternoon, Bella had ripped Jacob a new asshole. She was furious with him and had told him as much promising to tell Aro what he'd done before turning in her notice and finding another job.

Hopefully he'd realize how seriously he'd screwed up but for some reason she was quite sure that was possible. He'd pretended to apologize before so anything that came out of his mouth at this point was as meaningful as a pile of shit as far as she was concerned.

Quickly stating her concerns to Aro, she left, heading straight for Edward's, hoping he was home.

As she pulled into the drive, Lizzie came barreling around the house and nearly knocked her down in greeting before being joined by Sam.

"Hey," a quiet voice spoke from behind her.

She turned to find Edward, his was dressed warmly in jeans and a sweater. A hat was pulled low on his head but failed to hide the lines that marred his forehead and the circles beneath his eyes.

"Hi," she smiled, then stepped forward as he opened his arms to her. "I'm so glad to be home."

There was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach as he rubbed his hands down her back and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm glad you're home. How'd it go?"

Bella pulled away from him, staring at him with pleading eyes. "I didn't completely fail."

He frowned and took her hand in his then led her into the house. "Do you want to talk about it? Of course I'm not sure if I can handle it."

"We didn't have sex, Edward."

"So what did you have?" He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her closely.

She looked down at the floor as she made her way to the sofa. "He kissed me. Things got a little heated but I stopped him before…"

"Before what?" he sighed. He felt the anger boiling inside of him but he didn't know who he was angry at. He definitely knew he was mad at Jacob but part of him didn't want to place any blame on Bella. After all, he knew her situation as little of an excuse as it was, he couldn't blame her. "Before what, Bella?"

"When he started to take off my underwear… I stopped him. I … I'm sorry Edward."

Edward took off his hat as he sat next to her, running his fingers through his hair. "You didn't do anything to him? No cock sucking or jerking off, any of that shit?"

Bella frowned. "Of course not…"

"Did he get you off?"

"No."

He nodded. "You didn't… wear your heels to bed did you?"

Bella's mouth fell open in disbelief before she noticed the smirk on his face. "Edward!"

"What? I couldn't help it, sorry."

"Jerk."

Edward chuckled. "With all due respect Ms," he drawled as he stood and braced his hands on either side of her. Bending forward so that their faces were a mere inch apart, he spoke again, "I wasn't the one in bed with someone that wasn't me last night."

"And again I say jerk," she bit back, though the bitterness left her voice as he chose that moment to attack her neck causing her to squeal. "I turned in my notice today."

"Good."

"Edward," she pushed at him. "I'm not going to have a job in two weeks."

"Sorry," he replied then went back to her neck, sucking the area just behind her ear.

Rolling her eyes in irritation, she pushed at him and stood up. Putting her hands on her hips she stared down at him. "Are you listening to me? I have two weeks left in my job and after that I won't be able to afford to live. Are you hearing this?"

"I'll buy your house, don't worry about it. Now come here…" he grabbed for her but she stepped out of the way.

"Edward! I don't want you to buy my house for me."

"Then find another job. Hell, move in here. Work for me. I'll be your boss, in and out of the bedroom."

Bella closed her eyes in confusion as Edward pulled her down to straddle his lap, pushing her skirt up to her waist as he did so. "Have you totally forgotten that I was in bed with another guy last night? Making out with him?"

"Nope."

"Then why are you so … happy?"

He stopped and looked up at her, taking his time to unbutton her jacket and blouse as he did so. "Because you chose me. You're done drifting from one guy to another and you came back to me."

A smile tugged at her lips and she brushed her lips against his. "I love you."

Edward stopped and smiled at her. "I know you do, I was just waiting for you to realize it. I love you too."


	21. Epilogue

___****__AN: Alright everyone, here's your super short Epilogue. This takes place ten years later which it says plainly in the chapter. Thanks for the all the wonderful reviews guys!_

**_And keep sending me Doucheward fics please!_**

**_Anyway...Enjoy everyone!_********_...R & R! Appease the feedback whore inside. _**

**_Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All characters belong to the wonderful Mrs. Meyer and anything you don't recognize belongs to moi!_**

* * *

Epilogue

"Audrey, honey, please put your backpack in your room. Your dad's on his way home from the office and he's not going to be in the mood for your mess."

Audrey Cullen glared at her mother over her shoulder before doing as she was told, her vibrant green eyes flashing with anger. As far as she was concerned, her life sucked. It was bad enough being a 9 year-old girl, it was worse being that 9 year-old girl when Edward Cullen was your father.

She couldn't go anywhere or do anything without one of her dad's buddies tagging along for fear someone would kidnap her and now that her mom was pregnant, _for the third freaking time_, she might as well have been invisible.

"Audrey," Bella Cullen said sternly, pointing towards the stairs. "Now."

"God I hate you!" Audrey screamed, stomping up the stairs as loud as she could, knowing very well she was going to wake her 3 year old brother, Spencer, from his nap. And just as she slammed her bedroom door, the wailing started. "Yes!"

* * *

Edward opened the door to screaming and crying, though not all of it was coming from Spencer which was normally the case.

Granted, he had a good head of steam with the guttural wails wafting down the stairs but Bella was sitting on the couch balling uncontrollably. "Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, rushing to her side.

"Audrey hates me," she whined, blowing into the tissue that she'd practically torn to pieces.

A weak smile pulled at Edward's mouth. "No she doesn't."

"She said she did. How else am I supposed to interpret 'God I hate you'?"

Chuckling, Edward wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head as he did so. "Sweetie, she's 9 going on 20. We have to accept that everything that comes out of her mouth isn't necessarily how she feels. It's just convenient at the time."

Bella sniffled and looked at Edward. "What makes you an expert on pre-pubescent girls?"

"Emmett."

"Great. Send Audrey to live with Emmett for a few weeks. I don't want to deal with her. I look and feel like I'm about to explode and the last thing that I need is to fight with her over putting her back pack in her room." She pressed a slow kiss to his lips and placed her hand on his cheek. "What are you doing home so early anyway? You never get off early on Wednesday's."

Edward held up one finger and hurried back towards the front door, returning just a moment later with a large bouquet of orchids. "Happy anniversary," he smiled, handing her the flowers and a small bag. The last thing he expected was for her to start crying again. "Love?"

"I'm sorry, I just… I forgot it was our anniversary," she laughed, managing to snort as the crying continued.

He laughed and shook his head. "I don't doubt it with that," he motioned upward as Audrey stomped around above them and Spencer continued to scream every so often. "So, I want you to go get a shower and get dressed because we're going out."

"Edward, I'm in no shape to go out… not to mention I don't I have anything that fits. How long have we been married anyway?"

He pursed his lips at her, knowing she was agitating him but answered anyway. "Ten horrible years. No go get your ass ready," he quipped, slapping her on the ass as she stood and walked past him. "Emmett and Rosalie are keeping the kids tonight."

"Well that should calm me right down," she replied dryly.

Following her to the stairs, he quietly ascended behind her and pulled her back against him as she stopped to check in on Spencer who'd finally calmed down. "What time are we leaving?"

"They'll be here at 5. Gives us an hour and half to get ready."

Bella turned in his arms and kissed him again. "It'll only take me half an hour…" she bit at her lip and looked up at him beneath lowered lashes.

"But you need to get a shower," he stated.

"So do you. You smell like," she sniffed at him and grimaced. "What is that?"

"Shut the hell up woman and get your ass in that shower…" He kissed her roughly and sent her on her way before knocking on his daughter's door.

"Go away!" she yelled though she wasn't sure why because he was going to walk in anyway.

Edward threw the door open and leaned against the door frame.

"I said go away," she spat at him, glaring daggers.

"Well, when you start paying to live here, I'll listen to you, until then you're going to listen to me. If I ever hear you tell your mother you hate her again, I will beat you within an inch of your life."

"You didn't hear me tell her that to begin with …"

"Don't get smart with me, young lady. My dad could be the biggest asshole there was when I pissed him off so I've got plenty of training. Straighten your ass up. If you don't I'll marry you off to Whitlock's kid the day you turn 12."

"What?! Eww! Whiny Whitlock! Dad!"

Edward chuckled and turned to leave the room. "Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose are babysitting you and your brother tonight. If you act up, I'll marry you off sooner than twelve."

He withheld his laughter at the abhorrent look on Audrey's face when he closed the door and couldn't help but notice how much she looked like Bella. If there wasn't a thirty year difference he could swear they were the same person.

Quickly stripping as he walked through the bedroom, he stepped into the shower behind his wife and slipped his arms around her, letting his hands drift over the soft swell of her stomach as he nibbled on her neck.

"How'd it go?" she asked, handing him the body wash and loofah so he could wash her back.

Edward shrugged. "It went fine. I did a little threatening and everything went my way."

Frowning she turned to face him, seeing the smile spread across his face as he began to rub the body wash over her breasts. "What'd you threaten her with?"

"Marriage."

"Marriage?"

"Yup, she continues to be a little brat and I'm marrying her off to Mitch when she turns 12."

"Oh Edward, you didn't."

"Oh yes, I did and I will continue to use that threat. She hates him. It works to our advantage."

Bella just laughed and shook her head. "I love you, you fool."

"Right back at you love," he shot back, planting a long lingering kiss on her lips. "Right back at you."


	22. AN: Poll & Upcoming Info

Hi everyone!

I'm working on the story to go along with the short that I did called _If You See Him_ so hopefully I'll be able to start posting soon, it's called _It Doesn't Matter_. Honestly I'm going to try to enjoy having a little break from my daily updates so I can get caught up on the reading, which is my favorite thing to do anyway.

I've got a poll up on my profile that I would like to get your guys feedback on if you don't mind. I've got a story that's actually finished but it's another one of those racing background sorts that I'm sure you guys are sick of me writing. The story in itself doesn't really take place at the track it's similar to This Year's Girl in that manner. It will include Bella with Edward and someone other than Edward, I'm not saying who other than it isn't Jake and it may or may not end with E/B. I don't want you guys starting to read the story and then yelling at me because it's not E/B. You're getting fair warning here that there is someone, not Jake, that is also involved.

So please go vote!

I've also started a C2 with some of the Doucheward suggestions you guys have sent me. They aren't all listed yet so please give me time but they will eventually be there.

That's all for now!


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